Love Looketh Not on Appearance But on the Heart
by Compucles
Summary: Ranma and Akane have finally gotten married. However, Gosunkugi has in desperation managed to cast a spell that has rewritten the memories of everyone but Ranma into thinking that Ranma is actually a girl who sometimes turns into a boy. To break the spell, Ranma must win Akane's heart all over again, but can he convince her to fall in love with someone she thinks is another girl?
1. Prologue: Winning Love in Overtime

**Love Looketh Not on Appearance But on the Heart**

**Disclaimer: **"Ranma 1/2" is owned by Rumiko Takahashi, not me.

**Formatting Notes:** Double quotes indicate spoken dialogue, while single quotes indicate thoughts. Italics indicate flashbacks. I'm not very familiar with Japanese honorifics, so I won't be using them except in the cases of Ranma's and Ukyo's childhood nicknames for each other and of course the name of Ukyo's restaurant. I will also be using English translations for most terms except for the technique names that are left untranslated in the animé. As for the Amazon names, the naming theme can't be a coincidence (as with the Musk naming theme). I feel that the Chinese Amazons purposely name their children after the English words for hygiene products and then write the names as the closest Chinese equivalent. Therefore, they will have the same names even when speaking to each other in Chinese in the context of the story. As for gender pronouns when referring to Ranma, the narration will refer to Ranma by his current form, Ranma himself is a moot issue with the personal pronouns "I" and "me," while the other characters will mostly think of him as female (you did read the summary, right?) and speak of him by his current form.

**Continuity Notes:** This story obviously takes place after the end of the manga. I am ignoring all changes and filler from the animé. Therefore, Happosai and Cologne are only about 120 years old, not 300 (besides, it's nearly impossible for a 300 year old woman to be merely a great-grandmother to a teenager); Ranma's secret was revealed the first time he fought Mousse (except for the Kunos, of course); there is no Sasuke; and there was no time Ranma thought he was a girl, time traveling mirror, drowned spring of pious man, martial arts take-out race (nor included extra fiancee), martial arts calligraphy challenge , martial arts shogi, Ling-Ling nor Lung-Lung, Princes Kirin nor Toma, Natsume nor Kurumi, love mushrooms, and so on. I will allow Soun to be on the town council if it ever comes up, because I think it fits well and could just as easily be true in the manga. I'm using an estimate of 10 months for the time period covered by the entire manga. I have heard good arguments on both sides as to whether or not girl type Ranma's hair color is meant be to be red in the manga. I will be using red hair for her, because I like it better that way.

**Prologue: Winning the Game of Love in Overtime**

Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo were finally getting married. It had taken a year and a half, much of it filled with constant insults and fighting between the two of them, but the finish line was now in sight.

Many people in the Nerima Ward of Tokyo, Japan had thought this day would never come. Despite the arranged engagement, it had seemed to some that they hated each other too much to ever go through with it. Others thought that Ranma would be more willing to marry the other fiancee his father had arranged, Ukyo Kuonji. Still others thought that Shampoo and the other Chinese Amazons would eventually succeed in luring Ranma to China under their ridiculous combat and marriage laws. Nabiki Tendo herself would've given long odds on Ranma and Akane ever getting married shortly after Ranma and his father had arrived at her house. There was even one old man out in the street preaching repentance, as this wedding was surely a sign of the end of the world.

Others, however, recognized the relationship for what it was: a love/hate relationship that was a textbook example of the "Belligerent Sexual Tension" trope that would eventually appear on the TV Tropes website. Kasumi Tendo, standing contently with the other bridesmaids, was among that number. Those who looked closely enough would notice that among all the fighting were moments of true friendship and even love. Despite all that had happened, neither of them had ever tried to break off the engagement (except for a brief period when Nabiki had made fools out of them in a plan to get them to make up after one of their fights) or stopped living together. Furthermore, Akane's safety before anyone else's, even his own, was always Ranma's top priority during the many fights and adventures in which he got entangled.

As Ranma nervously stood at his place at the front of the Tendo Dojo where the ceremony was taking place, he thought about how things had finally changed between him and his bride.

_The first real step had been when Akane had been chosen to wear that semi-sentient battle armor that her father had received. He had just wanted to get that perverted thing away from her for her own good, but she had mistaken him for being jealous over the superior martial arts skills that her beloved "Armie" had provided her, although his over-competitive nature would've normally made it an accurate guess. Through some foolishness of his own as well as both of their fathers, he had made things worse to the point that Akane might have never forgiven him. Pushed to such an edge, he had truthfully told her she was "cute." It wasn't much, but it was the first time he had shared his honest feelings for her. To his shock, she had actually refused to believe him at first. They fought each other until he had managed to find a way to both remove the armor and convince Akane that he was her friend if not more._

_The turning point in their relationship had occurred when they had gotten involved with the Phoenix People's invasion of Jusenkyo and its source at Jusendo. Akane had allowed her bodily fluids to be instantly evaporated in order to save his life. To save Akane, he had been forced to fight and kill the Phoenix King, Saffron, before he could use Jusendo's source water to return her body to normal. However, he had appeared to be too late:_

_He had finally succeeded in spraying them both, activating his curse and restoring Akane's body. As she held Akane's naked body in her arms, she felt overwhelming despair as she realized that Akane wasn't breathing. She had been too late. He used a kettle to restore his natural gender and dressed Akane's body in his shirt to preserve her modesty. As he sat with her in his arms in the Jusen Caves, he knew he had to give her one last message, even if she was no longer capable of receiving it._

"_You gave your life...for mine," he began. "You were always trying to do things like that. You were so...so...so stupid." He paused, as he realized that he had once again put his foot in his mouth, something for which Akane would've hit him had she still been able to do so. 'D*** it!,' he thought as he punched himself in the face. 'I have to make sure I say things right for once.' He continued with his farewell message. "That's not what I meant to say. I just want to say...thank you, Akane...and I'm sorry, and...I'm...I'm really lame at this stuff." He had to say it now, for his own mind if for no one else. He just wished he had had the courage to tell her before he lost her. "I never...told you what I really felt. Akane, can you hear me? I want to tell you something. Please...be able to hear me, Akane." 'This is it,' he thought as tears began to fall from his eyes. "I love you, AKAAANE!," he shouted as he closed his eyes and embraced her tightly._

_He opened his eyes as he felt a hand brush his cheek. Hope filled his heart as he responded, "A-Akane?' He heard her voice quietly reply, "Ran...ma." Her eyes were open, and she was smiling at him. "Akane!" he exclaimed in relief. "Ranma" was her simple reply. 'She's alive. She's smiling!' he thought as joy filled his entire being. "Oh, Akane," he lamely repeated himself. Akane looked deep in his eyes as she said, "I'm sorry. I couldn't make my body respond, but I heard everything." This caught him by surprise. "Eep? Everything?!" "Uh-huh," she confirmed. His face blushed red with embarrassment. He knew he had just told her something important and personal, but his shocked mind refused to dig up the memory of exactly what he had said. 'What? What? What did I say?'_

_Once they returned home after discovering that the Jusenkyo springs were unusable at the time, he had been knocked out from a surprise attack by his father and Mr. Tendo. When he came to, he found himself dressed in a white tuxedo. He had been even more surprised to learn that Akane had actually agreed to get married. When he went to talk to her, she reminded him that he had confessed his love for her in the Jusen Caves. He nervously recalled that he had indeed done so but still tried in desperation to deny it. If he had thought it through, he would've realized that Akane wouldn't have agreed to the wedding just on the confession of his love unless she also loved him in return. He did agree to go along with it with the lure of Nannichuan water to cure his curse, which had been sent as a thank you gift by the Jusenkyo Guide. Unfortunately, both the wedding and the cure had been ruined by the appearance of their many unhappy suitors, a problem that they had made sure to correct this time around..._

Ranma looked towards the entrance as Akane appeared and began walking down the aisle as she was escorted by her father. Ranma sighed, entranced by her beauty in the same Western wedding dress she had worn at the previous wedding attempt. How could he have ever called her "uncute?" The memories came back to him as he recalled how their relationship had progressed since that first attempt.

_The new school year had begun the day after the failed wedding. After racing Akane to school, they discovered that they would be having a rough time at Furinkan High for a while. Not only were they the talk of the school because of the failed wedding many of the students had attended, but his confession of love had also become common knowledge among the student body, as Nabiki had fished the information out of Ryoga during the wedding attempt and proceeded to sell it to Kuno and whomever else she could find to buy it before word spread too far. All day, they had deal with constant whispering and note passing. Miss Hinako drained several students she caught not paying attention and managed to stay in her adult form for most of the lesson. Several students tried to ask them about it directly at lunch once it became clear that they wouldn't respond to the notes they were passed. At first, he tried to be civil, but he eventually lost his temper and shouted out several painful threats if they continued to bother him about it. Everyone backed off after that, as it was well known that he could easily deliver on those threats._

_The only exception was Kuno, who had unbelievably become even more annoying than he already was. He had attacked him (with the usual lack of results) as soon as he had arrived at school, then again at lunch, and once again after school, all the while insulting and threatening him, as he claimed that his love was a "most grievous insult of the fair Akane Tendo."_

_Akane had strangely been very quiet, politely turning down her friends' requests for gossip and not even reacting to Kuno. That evening, he found out why. He was looking up at the sky from his usual place on the roof when Akane joined him. She told him that she had been thinking about recent events and gone over their entire relationship in her mind. This had scared him, as he was suddenly worried that she would tell him that she didn't love him, or even worse, wanted him to leave. Instead, she had told him that now that she knew how he felt about her that she was no longer afraid to say that she was also in love with him. The time for denial was over as he confessed that he had indeed told her of his love in the Jusen Caves and meant every word. After a long passionate kiss, she explained that even if he hadn't told her, she now realized how much he loved and cared for her when she had looked closely back through everything that had happened to them since they had met ten months ago._

_They then discussed where they should go from there. Together, they identified the main issues that had caused them problems up to that point. Now that they had admitted their feelings for each other, they no longer had to worry about any fights that resulted from the denial of their feelings. He agreed to try to avoid insulting her without thinking, while Akane agreed to work on her temper and avoid jumping to conclusions. He also agreed to train Akane for real after she pointed out that he had fought many girls and was really just afraid of hurting her. She complained that she was also a martial artist and that training her meant less worry for him the next time something weird and dangerous appeared in the chaos magnet of Nerima. He had to agree as he recalled that he had almost lost her this last time._

_The final issues were the various fiancees and other suitors that constantly plagued them, and the over-zealousness of their parents to push them together and get them married off as soon as possible. The obvious solution was keep their new status as a couple secret until they were ready. Kasumi could be trusted, and Nabiki needed to be told and then paid off to keep the secret, but to everyone else they would appear to continue to deny their feelings and even purposefully insult one another on occasion, and they certainly weren't leaving the house separately with different excuses only to meet up for their dates._

_As time passed, anyone could tell that they were getting along much better, much to the annoyance of some of their frienemies who continued to try in vain with several half-baked plots to either turn them against each other or get themselves noticed; but no one noticed how close they actually were._

_After three months of secretly dating, he couldn't wait any longer. While it would've been nice if they had successfully gotten married on the first attempt, he was now glad it had failed. At that time, although he had already known he was in love with Akane, he still had doubts about getting married, as well as doubts about her feelings for him. It had taken a major bribe to convince him to go through with it. Now, he had no doubts. He loved Akane with all his heart and would marry no other woman. He bought a ring and took her to a nice restaurant for their next date. As he was about to propose, a waitress naturally took that moment to accidentally splash him with a glass of water. After cleaning herself up and brushing off the apologies f the embarrassed waitress, she considered waiting for another opportunity but decided to go ahead. It had taken too darn long to get to this point, and he wasn't going to let the curse screw things up this time no matter how embarrassing this was going to be. Gathering her courage, she got down on one knee, opened the box, and asked Akane to marry her. The restaurant soon got very quiet as the staff and the other patrons looked on in shock at what appeared to be a girl in a baggy suit proposing marriage to another girl. Akane began laughing at the awkwardness of the situation and then replied, "Yes, I'll marry you, you idiot." This response caused plenty of face faults and dropped jaws throughout the restaurant. They promised to explain if they could get some hot water, after which several of the people present were astounded by the transformation, while others quietly went back to their meals or jobs, being used to the weirdness of Nerima._

Of course, Ranma reflected, making their engagement official had created its own set of problems. Just about every weirdo in Nerima had romantic interest in one of them (or both of them in the case of a certain delusional kendoist), and they were all very stubborn in their pursuits, which had already ruined one wedding attempt. Thankfully, Ranma and Akane had the foresight to plan in advance how to deal with them. 'Ryoga had been the easiest,' Ranma thought as he glanced over at his best man, who was holding not just the rings but a thermos of hot water, a necessary precaution at a wedding where the groom and three other attendees have Jusenkyo curses.

_While cleaning up the dojo after the failed wedding, Ryoga had asked to talk to him alone. The lost boy then proceeded to tell him that he had known for a while that he loved Akane; his confession in the Jusen Caves had merely been final confirmation for Ryoga that Akane would never be his. Ryoga then predicted that even though this wedding had failed, he was certain that they would get married and be happy together someday. As for him, he was going to focus on his relationship with Akari. Finally, Ryoga had made him promise to take good care of Akane and continue to keep his identity as P-Chan secret from her. In return, Ryoga promised that he would never again take advantage of Akane with P-Chan and would try to avoid even crossing her path while in his transformed state. Ryoga also warned him that he had let slip to Nabiki about the confession to Akane._

_Three P-Chan free months later, they had returned from the awkward date where he had proposed and broke the news to their families. Everyone reacted as to be expected. Soun openly wept while dancing around with Genma, both of them exclaiming how the schools would soon be joined. Nodoka commented on how manly her son was for finally deciding to get married. Kasumi offered congratulations while smiling knowingly. Nabiki handed out the prize to the engagement pool she had been running among the family, Nodoka being the winner. While Nabiki had kept her promise not to tell about them dating, she saw nothing wrong with running a pool after commenting on how much better the two of them had been getting along (Kasumi being ineligible due to her knowledge of inside information)._

_Happosai made a perverted comment about how lucky Ranma was to be able to "score" with Akane whenever he wanted, prompting a severe beating from Akane. Disgusted, Akane told her father that enough was enough and he needed to report Happosai to the police, or she would do it herself while also pressing charges against him for harboring the perverted thief. Soun was at first shocked that his own daughter would betray him like that. However, Kasumi and Nabiki wasted no time backing up their younger sister, having previously discussed the issue together. Confronted with a dishonorable prison sentence and three pairs of puppy dog eyes, Soun gathered enough courage to finally stand up to his "evil master" and went straight to the phone. Happosai wasted no time gathering up his belongings (including as much of his "collection" as he could carry) and fleeing into the night but not before warning everyone that they would regret this treatment._

_Before school the next day, he and Akane had stopped by Ucchan's to tell Ukyo the news in person before she heard it from the grapevine at school. Ukyo was predictably shocked and upset, both at the engagement itself and for their secret relationship, yelling at them to get out. Konatsu tried to calm her down only for Ukyo to burst into tears and run crying up to her room. They attempted to apologize to Konatsu, but he dismissed their apologies saying that they had nothing for which to be sorry._

_As they expected, Tatewaki Kuno was waiting for them at the school gate, having paid Nabiki to hear about their new relationship status. Shouting that he would not allow such a relationship when Akane rightfully belonged to him, the Blue Blunder charged at him with his bokken. Reacting according to plan, he easily dodged the first strike. He then pulled out a watermelon from behind his back and held it above Kuno's head. Kuno's watermelon slicing reflex kicked in, dividing the large fruit in half and knocking himself out._

_After disarming the fruitcake, they woke him up and presented him with the restraining order Nabiki had arranged with various photographic evidence she had collected over the past few months (for a price, of course). They pointed out that at least he could put his full effort into chasing the pig-tailed girl and without coming off as a two-timer. He hadn't been happy about encouraging Kuno to go after his girl side but had reluctantly agreed when Nabiki had pointed out that a restraining order alone was unlikely to deter Kuno, and enduring an occasional Kuno glomp while female was worth getting him to leave Akane and his boy side alone. This had worked for about a month until he and Akane encountered Kuno at random while out shopping. Kuno couldn't resist rushing at Akane with outstretched arms; resulting in her shoe print on his face, a night in jail, and a large fine. Now knowing the horrors of a jail cell, particularly the primitive human waste disposal system, this mistake was not repeated._

_As expected, the school was abuzz with the news of the engagement and secret relationship, Nabiki having sold the entire story to whomever would pay for it. Several of the girls were jealous of Akane, both because she had found love and because she had snared such a hunk. Sayuri and Yuka were a little upset that Akane hadn't even told them that she had been officially dating him. Even Miss Hinako was excited and let half the class period slip by before she realized that she should probably do some teaching. Several of the boys offered him congratulations and called him lucky, while a vicious glare had stopped any further awkward questions when a foolish classmate had asked him if they had "done it" yet._

_Not completely unexpected, Ukyo hadn't come to school that day. After school, they had stopped by Ucchan's only to find it closed. He hoped he hadn't miscalculated by expecting Ukyo to eventually accept defeat and remain friends._

_From the top of the building came an insane female laugh, "Hohohohohohoho!" Black rose petals scattered around as Kodachi Kuno jumped down in front of them wearing her gymnast's leotard and twirling her ribbon. "Is what brother dearest told me actually true? You didn't actually ask this violent peasant girl to marry you, did you Ranma darling?" With a frustrated sigh, he responded, "Yes, we're getting married." He handed her a restraining order. "Here, this one is for you. You can frame it next ta your brother's." She took a look at the form. "A restraining order?! Surely you jest. I can see why my idiot brother would need one, but why would you need protection from me, your true love?" Akane growled and replied, "He's my fiancee. He was never interested in you. Are you going to accept that restraining order or not?" Kodachi revealed a smile of which the Joker would be proud. "I think not. If I can't have my Ranma, you won't either." She rushed in to attack. A half an hour later, Kodachi was being committed to the Nerima Mental Institution, which promised that she would be held until at least after their wedding. Later that evening, Ranma returned Nabiki's hidden camera and paid the appropriate rental fee. He and Akane may have been going broke paying for all the help they were getting from Nabiki, but neither of them would deny that it was worth every yen._

_They had one more stop to make before they were home free, and this one would probably be the most difficult. They stopped at the Cat Café and went inside. A young man with long hair wearing a long Chinese robe approached them. "Good afternoon. How many are in your party?" He sighed and responded, "Put on your glasses. It's us, Mousse. We need to speak to Cologne." As prompt as ever, the old Amazon elder hopped over on her staff. "I'll take it from here. You get back to work, part-timer." Cologne led them to the kitchen where they could talk in private while she continued to cook for her customers._

"_What is it this time, son-in-law? I suppose it's too much to ask that you've agreed to marry Shampoo, especially with Miss Tendo accompanying you." He gulped and started what he hoped wouldn't be seen as a declaration of war against the Chinese Amazons. "First of all, you need to stop calling me 'son-in-law.' Me and Akane here have agreed to go through with our engagement an' get married." Akane nodded and showed off her engagement ring. Cologne face was unreadable as she responded, "Do you really love each other? Are you sure this won't turn into another fiasco like you had three months ago?" He answered, "Yes, this time we're sure about it. We're taking steps ta make sure everything goes right, and we're going through with it whether ya like it or not." "That's right," Akane agreed. He continued with the important part of the message. "I'd like ta resolve the issue of Shampoo's 'Kiss of Marriage' peacefully, but we will defy you and your people if necessary. You don't want me as your enemy, Cologne."_

_Surprisingly, Cologne sighed in defeat. "No, I suppose I don't. To be honest, I've been expecting this ever since Mousse told me about your little confession in the Jusen Caves. I've already taken the necessary precautions to dissolve the 'Kiss of Marriage' used on you as well as the 'Kiss of Death' used against your fiancee here. The other Elders weren't happy about it, but they eventually relented once I told them how stubborn you are and explained the danger of crossing the man who defeated Prince Herb of the Musk and killed Phoenix King Saffron. Our laws may appear strict to you outsiders, but we know how to be flexible when we need to be."_

_He smiled at his unexpected good fortune. Akane squealed and hugged Cologne while replying, "Thank you, Elder Cologne. This means a lot to us." Cologne smiled and said, "Please, just call me Cologne. Who am I to stand in the way of love? I know when to retreat when the battle is lost. I just ask for two favors. First, let me be the one to tell Shampoo. She doesn't know about any of this yet, and I fear she may not respond well if I don't talk to her first. Second, make sure we're invited to the wedding. We'll be leaving to go back to China for good afterward. I'm going to miss you, son-, I mean Ranma, and I'll miss this restaurant, but there's nothing keeping us here anymore. Nobody can deny that you made things exciting."_

_Akane nodded her hand and said, "Agreed, but we'd also like a favor. Last night, my sisters and I convinced our father to finally kick Happosai out of the house and report him to the police. However, we all know that the police will never catch him, and he's not going to let us go unpunished for turning against him. Our wedding will be too tempting of a target for him to pass up. We need you to track him down and find some way of capturing and holding him." Cologne replied, "That flimsy excuse for a human being has always been nothing but trouble. I'll do whatever I can to stop him." "Thank you," they both replied in unison._

_As they headed for the door, Cologne surprised him one last time. "By the way, I don't suppose you'd like some Nannichuan water as a wedding present? I can have my village collect it and ship it to me here, and this time I'll keep it safe from your father and the other cursed buffoons, yes that includes you Mousse, until you can use it." Three months ago, he would've jumped at such an offer. However, three months of dating Akane peacefully had matured him and helped him accept his curse. Akane herself didn't even care about his curse and had at one point insisted on making out in the rain to prove it. "You know what, a cure doesn't even matter to me anymore. Akane loves me for who I am no matter what I look like, and I feel like I'm better off just accepting the curse instead of tryin' ta fight it. Although, I wouldn't turn down a bunch of that waterproof soap." Cologne laughed. "I see your young lady is already having a significant positive influence on you. Not many Jusenkyo victims ever reach that point of acceptance, let alone after only a little over a year of being cursed. I expect great things from you, Ranma. I'm proud to have been one of your teachers."_

_The next day, Ukyo was back in school and passed him a note telling him to bring Akane and meet her after school at her restaurant. When they arrived, she told them now that she had calmed down and thought about it, she knew she had to accept that he only thought of her as a sister. It wasn't worth destroying herself or losing her friendship with either of them. After all, he hadn't been aware of the agreement between their fathers, and Akane had just as much claim on him if not more than she did. She'd try to explain the situation to her father and hoped he'd be reasonable about it. When Akane told her that she was impressed with her attitude, Ukyo confessed that it had actually been Konatsu who had gotten through to her. It was too soon right now, but she admitted that she probably would eventually give the cross-dressing kunoichi a chance to date her._

_Everything appeared to be settled until a few days later when Akane left the house by herself to do some grocery shopping for Kasumi. She had barely left the compound when Shampoo ambushed her and seriously attempted to kill her. Thanks to his training over the last three months, Akane had been able to hold her off until he could reach them. He was sure that Shampoo had never seen him this mad before, certainly never before directed at her, and her face showed genuine fear during the severe beating that followed. He helped Akane to Dr. Tofu to have her injuries treated while he literally dragged Shampoo's unconscious body through the streets to the Cat Café. The customers were a little shocked as he tossed Shampoo's limp form to the ground. "Old Ghoul," he shouted, "what's the meaning of this?"_

_At first, Cologne was not happy to see the sorry state of her great-granddaughter. Her clothes were torn in several places and covered in dirt and dried blood. The majority of her body was covered in bruises, and her right arm was broken. She probably correctly guessed that Shampoo also had several cracked or bruised ribs. Her face was bruised and bloodied almost beyond recognition, although there was at least no permanent damage. His fists were covered with a large amount of dried blood, while his face was unmistakeably full of the anger he felt._

_However, Cologne was wise enough to realize that Shampoo must have brought it on herself and relaxed before quickly shooing out the customers, giving each of them a coupon for a free meal. One customer was heard to say, "This is what I like about this place. You never know what might happen, and you'll often get a free meal when something does happen. I would've preferred not to have seen today's show, though."_

_Cologne slowly turned to him and drily said, "I imagine my foolish granddaughter has crossed a big line for you to have put her into such a sorry state?" He silently nodded. "My humblest apologies. Let me assure you that I had nothing to do with her dishonorable actions. Come, let's clean her up while you tell me exactly what happened." Knowing that he could believe her, he let go of some of his anger. He then picked up Shampoo and followed Cologne to Shampoo's bedroom, where he placed the girl on her bed. Cologne left the room and soon returned with a first aid kit._

_As she began to treat Shampoo's injuries, she asked, "I need to know. What has happened?" He replied in a angry voice, "She...she tried to kill Akane. Not like Ryoga says he wants ta kill me. The b**** actually attempted to the best of her abilities to murder my fiancee!" Cologne frowned in despair. "Is Akane all right?" He sighed. "Yes. Luckily, she was able to avoid any major injuries before I got there. She's at Doc Tofu's clinic right now. When we told him what happened, he refused ta treat Shampoo after confirming that her injuries weren't life-threatening. He did agree to let you handle it instead of gettin' the police involved, though." Cologne replied, "Yes, it would be best to address the issue from within the tribe. Considering what she tried to do, I'm actually surprised you left her in as good of shape as she is." He replied in all seriousness, "Believe me, Cologne. If her attack had been successful, she'd need an undertaker instead of a first aid kit. As it is, I managed to remain in control of my actions. Barely."_

"_Shampoo was certainly not happy when I informed her of your decision to marry Akane and my decision to accept it," Cologne explained. "I could tell that she didn't like my reasons for doing so, but she agreed to obey the authority of the Elders in the matter. I never thought she would be so stupid as to try something like this." He gulped as he thought of the likely Amazon punishment for defying the Elders. "They're not going to have her killed, are they? Me and Akane discussed that possibility, and while we can never forgive her and never want to see her again, we agreed that we don't want her dead." Cologne eyes brightened a little at that remark. "No amazon would think like that. It's further proof that things would've never worked out between you and Shampoo. Under the circumstances, between the failure of the attack and the mercy shown by the victims, she should be able to avoid a death sentence as long as she doesn't try anything else. There will be a strict punishment, though."_

_At this point, Shampoo began to wake up. "Uuuugghh! Why Shampoo hurt so much?" She then must have remembered what happened, as her eyes snapped open. She turned and saw him standing over her, a look of hatred now in his eyes. Shampoo shrieked and pushed back in fear, only to groan in pain from her injured arm. Once it was apparent that he wasn't going to attack her further, she gathered her courage and cried out with tears in her eyes, "Why? Why did Airen pick violent kitchen destroyer over Shampoo? Shampoo no hit Airen like violent girl does. Shampoo better fighter. Shampoo much better cook. Shampoo even built better." He knew he had to answer her if she was ever going to turn her life around, but he kept his voice strict. "Shampoo, you can't judge love on such surface level qualities. I love Akane for the person she is inside. For one thing, she would've never resorted to what you tried to do." At these words, Shampoo just cried even harder._

_Cologne jumped on her bed and whacked her on the head with her staff. "Stop that blubbering and listen to me. Do you have any idea of the trouble you could've caused if you had successfully killed the girl?!" Shampoo looked up at her great-grandmother in surprise. "Akane is obstacle. Obstacles are for killing, no matter what Elders say." Cologne whacked her over the head again. "Get it through your thick skull, you foolish child! You're lucky enough as it is. A lesser man would've killed you in response to your attack. If you had killed Akane, Ranma would've killed you in return. He's already admitted as much. Keep in mind that this is the same man who killed a demigod to protect the very woman you targeted. While we Elders would've dismissed your death as punishment for defying us, there would undoubtedly be a few foolish young warriors, Mousse probably among them, who would attempt to take revenge on Ranma on their own or die trying, none of them very likely to succeed. With so much amazon blood on his hands, we would then have no choice but to make Ranma an enemy of the village and call for his head. Ranma would then be forced into hiding, perhaps taking along some friends such as Ryoga and Ukyo. At this point, he would no longer hesitate at killing any amazon who crossed his path and would likely put his tactical mind to use with some kind of guerrilla warfare. Even worse, he may even assault the village directly. I can't say whether or not we would be able to kill him in the end, but even if we did, it would merely be a Pyrrhic victory with our tribe in ruins."_

_Shampoo's eyes grew wide at this description of the big picture, at last fully understanding why she had to let him go. "I'm sorry," she tried to apologize, but he had had enough. "You're sorry?!" he began to yell. "You're not sorry for me or Akane! You're only sorry that you nearly brought destruction to your tribe! You knew full well what you were doing when you tried to murder the woman I love! I had hoped that we could be friends, but I can never forgive you for this. I never want to see you again, and you are certainly no longer invited to my wedding! Goodbye forever, you crazy b****."_

_He had left and never looked back. Eventually, Cologne had revealed that Shampoo had received a relatively light sentence, relative to their standards anyway. She had avoided the death penalty and even avoided exile from the village. However, she would never be allowed to cure her Jusenkyo curse, she could no longer use the "Kiss of Marriage" or "Kiss of Death," and her overall village status was reduced to that of a male warrior. For the rest of their stay in Japan, Cologne had effectively kept her on house arrest, forcing Mousse to make all the deliveries. Mousse had tried to comfort her, and Shampoo was now actually showing some kindness to the near-sighted quacker now that he wasn't chasing after her._

_With all the suitors out of the way, they began to plan the wedding. As a typical male, despite what his physical appearance may sometimes indicate, he had left as much of the planning as possible to Akane, Kasumi, and his mother; while Nabiki kept everyone within budget. Before long, Cologne had managed to capture Happosai and provided Japanese law enforcement with some ki dampening equipment to make sure he stayed put. Ranma went out with the men for a bachelor's party (the highlight of which was a drunk Genma purposely splashing him and then attempting to stuff her inside a giant plastic cake), while the women held a wedding shower._

_Another couple also found love during this time, as Kasumi finally decided to share her feelings with Dr. Tofu if he wasn't going to bother himself to do so first. This confession luckily had the effect of shocking the poor man out of his stupor long enough to reply in kind and explain his eccentric behavior around her before he relapsed and began waltzing with his skeleton in joy. They began dating, with Kasumi initially using her sisters as messengers to plan their dates. Gradually, she worked Tofu out of his nervous shell until he was completely comfortable around her. A month before his and Akane's wedding, Kasumi and Tofu had announced that they too were now engaged._

At last, they were standing together ready to become husband and wife. The rest of the ceremony went off without a hitch, and they were now forever joined as Mr. and Mrs. Saotome. Everyone moved into the house for the reception. Finally, they were together and free from all of their crazy suitors. Unfortunately, they had forgotten about one of the suitors, one they had dismissed as no real threat and a minor annoyance at worst. This would prove to be a big mistake...

* * *

**Author's Notes: **So this is my first attempt at writing fan fiction. Leave a review and tell me how I'm doing. You can give yourself a pat on the back if you figured out that the title of the story is a reference to 1 Samuel 16:7 in the Bible. I wanted it to be "Outward Appearance," but that made the title too long for this website. The title of this prologue is a reference to the very last line of the manga.


	2. Chapter 1: Here's Ranko

**Chapter 1: Here's Ranko**

Hikaru Gosunkugi was finally ready as he sat in his bedroom. That d*** Saotome had taken Akane Tendo for himself, and this was his last chance to fix the problem, as they were getting married today. Ever since he had received the wedding invitation three weeks ago, he had been preparing for this moment. He was going to make sure nothing went wrong with his voodoo spell this time. He had carefully gathered the exact ingredients required for the spell. He triple-checked the instructions. He then followed the instructions to the letter while concentrating harder than he ever had before. Upon completion of the spell, he collapsed to the floor, drained of nearly all his energy, and didn't wake up until the next morning.

Meanwhile, significant changes occurred simultaneously around the world...

* * *

Ranma Saotome took a break from the dance floor at his wedding reception and sat down in one of the many chairs set up along the way. He closed his eyes and started fantasizing about how enjoyable the evening would be with his new bride. Suddenly, a brief nauseous feeling overcame him, and suddenly things had changed. For one thing, he was no longer sitting in a hard folding chair but on some kind of soft pallet. Secondly, he realized that he had somehow transformed into his female state despite remaining completely dry. Even weirder, she was clearly wearing different clothes. Finally, she was no longer alone but leaning against a woman who had one of her arms wrapped around her.

Wondering if she had somehow passed out and was now waking up next to Akane, she opened her eyes to find her mother smiling back at her. They were in the back seat of a moving cab, with Pop and the driver sitting up front.

"Good timing," Nodoka began. "We're almost there."

Confused, Ranma replied, "Huh? What happened to the reception?"

Nodoka looked blankly back at her child but then smiled and responded, "Oh, you must still be half asleep. You need to wake up, dear. You've been napping for the whole ride, and you don't want to miss meeting your new friends."

Still confused, Ranma now took the opportunity to look at her clothes. "Ahhh, what the heck am I wearing?! What'll I do if my curse activates?" This was a valid concern as she was dressed in a modest sun dress with frilly white socks and formal girl's shoes. Even worse, she realized that she was also wearing a bra and panties under the dress. Nervously reaching back to fiddle with her pigtail, the embarrassment was complete as she felt a bow attached to it.

Nodoka chuckled and responded with words that chilled her to her bones. "I know you don't like wearing dresses, especially since you picked up that bothersome curse, but we need to make a good impression when your father and I introduce our lovely daughter Ranko to the Tendo family. If for some reason you manage to get hit with hot water somewhere between the street and the front door, I have a water bottle right here."

Genma responded from the front seat, "You're going to like the Tendos, my girl. Soun is an old friend of mine, and he has three daughters of his own, all fairly close to your own age."

Ranma's mind went into shock. 'No, this can't be happening!' she screamed in her head. 'I finally just married Akane, and now I've been sent into some kind of alternate reality where my parents think I'm a girl, and I haven't even met Akane yet. Couldn't the Universe have at least given us a chance to make love before deciding to screw up my life again? I must've been a mass murderer or somethin' in a previous life.' She forced herself to calm down and thought about her options. 'At least my curse acts exactly the same accordin' to what Mom just said. For now I need to play along until I find out exactly what the h*** is goin' on.'

Nodoka continued, "It's been a year and a half. You need to think positively about your curse. For one thing, like your gynecologist said, as long as you turn into a boy at least once a month, you'll never have another period."

"Mom!" shouted 'Ranko' with a red face. "Don't talk about that kind of stuff where other people can hear you."

Nodoka leaned over and whispered in her daughter's ear. "Of course, you'll never be able to get pregnant that way, but we both know you don't care about that. By the way, dear, if you should find yourself, um, 'interested' in any of the Tendo girls, please do your best to hide your feelings. You don't want to scare them, and you certainly don't want your father to discover your nontraditional sexual preference with the sexist c*** he always spouts. It was hard enough for me to accept when you first confided in me back when you were 13."

Ranko's face was now fully crimson. In her thoughts, she counted it a blessing that this parallel universe, or whatever it was, had at least made a large concession to her still male mind. She also noted that she had been cursed for the same amount of time as in her normal world.

The cab pulled to a stop in front of a familiar looking compound. Everyone got out of the cab. Genma and the driver walked over to the trunk and started pulling out suitcases. Nodoka placed her arms on Ranko's shoulders and said, "Well, this is our new home after those _friends_ of yours wreaked our house chasing you around. Honestly dear, I know you're a martial artist like your father, but you and your friends need to learn to be more careful."

Genma chuckled. "Now, Nodoka honey. They're good kids. Ryoga, Ukyo, Mousse, and Shampoo didn't mean to cause any problems. Besides, we made out like bandits on the insurance claim." Ranko flinched at the mention of Shampoo's name, which went unnoticed by both of her parents.

Nodoka glared at her husband. "Genma, it's just that kind of irresponsible attitude that got you and Ranko, and by extension poor Ryoga, cursed during your father-daughter training trip to Jusenkyo." Muttering, she added, "This has got to be the only place in the world where it's possible to insure your house against damage caused by martial artists. I'd better make sure Mr. Tendo has the same coverage on his compound."

* * *

Inside the house, Soun Tendo was preparing to receive his new house guests. He began calling for his daughters. "Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane!" He found his oldest daughter Kasumi in the kitchen and his middle daughter Nabiki in her room, but his youngest daughter Akane was nowhere to be found. "Where is that girl?"

Akane was practicing breaking cinder blocks with her bare hands in the dojo when Nabiki came in and snapped a picture. "There you go again, Akane. This is exactly the kind of thing that makes the boys think you're so weird."

Akane snapped back, "So why should I care, Nabiki? Not everyone thinks the world revolves around boys!"

The girls met their father in the tea room. "House guests?" Akane asked.

"Yes, a very good friend of mine along with his wife and teenage daughter, the Saotome family," Soun began. "Their house on the other side of Nerima was destroyed in an accident, so they're coming to live with us, for a while at least. It would be wonderful if you could befriend their daughter, Ranko, who could use some friends in a new house while attending a new school."

"Hey, wait a minute here," Akane replied. "Don't we get to have some say over who we allow to live here?"

"Maybe you should wait until you meet them," Nabiki challenged. "You never know. They might be fun to have around. Right, Daddy?"

Soun laughed a little and replied, "They'll be here any minute. Ranko and her father are also martial artists who occasionally go on training missions together. They're the sister branch to our Tendo branch in the School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts. Last year, they even crossed into China."

"Ooh, China," Nabiki commented, sounding interested.

Akane replied sarcastically, "So they hiked all the way to China. Wow, big deal."

Kasumi spoke up for the first time. "Father, how old is this Ranko? Younger children are so...young."

"Does she like shopping?" Nabiki chimed in.

"Well, what kind of girl is she?" asked Akane.

Soun chuckled again and replied, "I don't know."

"You don't know?!" parroted Nabiki with disbelief in her tone.

"I've never met her," finished Soun, as his daughters all looked back at him with stunned faces.

"Oh please, I don't believe this," Nabiki sarcastically replied for all three of them.

Just then, the doorbell rang, causing one of the koi fish in their pond to jump in the air in response.

* * *

Genma paid the driver, who left grumbling about the lousy tip. The family of three reached the front door and rang the bell, which was soon answered by a familiar man with long hair and a mustache. "Saotome, my old friend. It's great to see you. I haven't seen you since your wedding to Nodoka, and might I say she looks just as lovely as ever." Nodoka blushed at the compliment. "And this must be Ranko. I must say, Saotome, she's quite adorable. Although, it appears time hasn't been quite as generous to your hair or gut, Saotome."

Genma taunted him in return. "Now now, Tendo. I may no longer look like it, but I can still mop the floor with you. I've been keeping up with _my_ training." At the sad look on his friend's face, Genma realized he had stuck his foot in his mouth just like all Saotomes tended to do from time to time. "I'm sorry, Soun. I know it wasn't easy for you when your wife passed away. I wish we had been able to make it to the funeral."

"It's quite all right, Saotome. It's partially my fault for slipping away like I did, especially where my daughters are concerned. It's been eleven years, but I'm still not over it, and I don't know if I ever will be." Soun quickly changed his expression. "Anyway, come on in and we can introduce our families to each other. It's just a shame that the old agreement we made to join our schools couldn't work out."

Ranko followed her parents and Mr. Tendo inside where they sat down with three young women, one with long brown hair in a ponytail wearing a modest dress and apron, one with unbound neck length brown hair wearing a kimono, and one with very short dark blue hair wearing a yellow gi. Ranko smiled at the sight of the last girl. She noticed that Akane didn't have the long hair that she had worn when they had really met for the first time, another indication that the time period was still correct. She quickly glanced at the newspaper that was lying on the table and confirmed that it did indeed list the correct date and year. At least that was one less thing to worry about.

"Daughters," Soun began. "This is my very good friend and former training partner, Genma Saotome, his wife Nodoka, and their lovely daughter Ranko," he introduced. "Friends, these are my daughters. My oldest daughter, Kasumi. She's just turned 21 and is engaged to the local chiropractor, Dr. Tofu. My middle daughter, Nabiki. She's 18 and a senior in high school. My youngest daughter, Akane. She's 17 and a junior in high school," he finished pointing to each of his daughters in turn.

Nodoka smiled and replied, "It's nice to meet all of you. Ranko is also 17 and a high school junior."

Nabiki looked at the extremely nervous, petite redhead. "She's really cute. She's going to give me a run for my money with the boys at school." At this response, Ranko blushed and turned her head to the side.

Akane stepped forward. "Nabiki, don't scare her like that. A guest is a guest." She placed a hand on Ranko's shoulder. "Hey, you wanna go practice? I'm Akane. You wanna be friends?"

Ranko smiled at the familiar question and nodded. "Just give me a chance to change first." She took her suitcase to the guest room and changed into boxer shorts and her usual Chinese shirt and black pants. Just in time, she remembered to also remove the bow from her hair. She came back and followed Akane out to the dojo.

Kasumi frowned at the strange new outfit as Nodoka explained, "I should warn you that Ranko is quite the tomboy. I had to practically beg her to wear that dress over here."

Nabiki chuckled. "I suppose that's something else she has in common with Akane, although at least my sister isn't as picky with her wardrobe."

* * *

As they opened the door and walked into the dojo, Akane asked her new friend, "You study kempo, right?"

"A little," Ranko replied in even more of an understatement than it had been the first time around.

"Well, why don't we have a little match then?" Akane asked. "C'mon, just for fun."

Akane got into her fighting stance and was surprised that Ranko just stood there in no stance at all. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you," she assured the other girl. She began to attack, but Ranko avoided all the blows with ease with a cute smile on her face. "What's wrong? Attack me!" she cried out in frustration. A few fruitless seconds of fighting later, she thought to herself, 'Why? Why am I missing her? Is she reading my moves?"

Ranko studied Akane's fighting ability as she avoided her blows and was satisfied to see that her speed and defense were indeed still up to the improved level she had reached in their eight months of serious training together. Of course, Akane still stood no chance of hitting her when she didn't let her, but then again she is the best. She did note that Akane still needed work on controlling her anger, as she was getting sloppier the longer the match continued, although that could partially be a result of whatever Akane's life was like without her in this reality.

Akane had had enough. Panting, she shouted, "Okay, this time for real!" She threw a punch as hard as she could, only for Ranko to jump and flip over her head as her punch broke a hole in the dojo wall. Ranko dropped her to the ground with a quick leg sweep and then aimed a punch at her face. Akane closed her eyes only to feel a finger tap on her forehead instead. Opening her eyes, she found Ranko chuckling at her with her hand outreached. She accepted the hand and allowed Ranko to pull her back up to her feet, while they both laughed in enjoyment.

"You're pretty good," Akane said in all seriousness. "I'm just glad that you're a girl...It's just, well, I'm really glad you're not a boy." She flashed one of her cute smiles that always melted Ranko's heart.

They walked inside where they found Kasumi heating up a tea kettle. "Ranko, would you like to freshen up and have a bath now?" She didn't wait for a response as she handed Ranko a towel. "You've been exercising, haven't you?" Ranko suddenly gulped as she accepted the towel and made her way to the changing room in front of the bathroom. Kasumi turned to Akane and said, "You should take a bath as well." She then grabbed the now heated kettle as well as a glass of water and headed back to the living room.

* * *

Meanwhile, Genma and Nodoka had been entertaining Soun with a few stories of Ranko's adventures, while Kasumi served tea and began preparing the bath for Akane and Ranko for when they were finished in the dojo.

Nabiki was listening while shaking her head with a disbelieving look on her face. Finally, she had enough. "Father," she interrupted, "are you sure it's really a good idea to let these people stay here? Just listen to this utter rubbish they're trying to pass off as if it had actually happened. Magic love pills? Martial arts okonomiyaki? Breaking points? Ki blasts? Please, I'll read a manga if I want to be entertained with such fantasy."

Genma growled. "Now listen here, girl. There's more to martial arts than you think. Truth is stranger than fiction, after all."

Nodoka joined in. "Genma, don't be rude. It's perfectly natural for someone to dismiss these weird occurrences if they hadn't witnessed them for themselves." She sighed and continued. "There is something important that you and your family needs to be aware of before we go any further, something that will also show Nabiki the truth of these stories. Kasumi dear, could you please bring me a cup of cold water and refill the tea kettle without adding any tea leaves this time?" Kasumi grabbed the kettle and walked to the kitchen.

Nabiki scoffed. "How exactly are a kettle of hot water and a glass of cold water supposed to make me believe any of this?"

Nodoka sighed. "You'll see. It would be best to wait until Kasumi gets back before we start explaining, and we should make sure Akane is told about this, as well."

A few minutes later, Kasumi returned with the requested items and sat down. Genma cleared his throat and began the story. "A year and a half ago, Ranko and I swam to China during one of the occasional training trips we take together."

"Swam to China, sure you did," Nabiki sarcastically interrupted as she rolled her eyes.

"Anyway," Genma continued, "I took Ranko to the Legendary Cursed Training Grounds of Jusenkyo, a mistake that has haunted me ever since. Jusenkyo is a collection of small pools of water with a bamboo poles sticking out of them. I foolishly ignored the guide's warning about the cursed springs and led Ranko to the top of the bamboo poles to train. Ranko knocked me into one of the cursed springs, and I in turn did the same to her. Now we are both cursed."

Soun eyes dripped tears as he commented, "The path of a true martial artist is fraught with perils. You have my sympathy, old friend. Exactly what is the nature of your curses?"

Genma continued, "Each cursed spring is different, but they all cause water activated physical transformations depending on whatever was the first thing to drown in the pool. For example, I fell in the Spring of Drowned Panda. Whenever I am splashed with cold water, I take on the body of a panda, while hot water returns me to normal.

Nabiki shook her head. "You can't honestly expect us to believe that..." She broke off and dropped her jaw as Nodoka poured the glass of cold water over Genma's head, causing him to indeed transform into a panda, still wearing Genma's gi. "But he was just...and then...it's not...it can't be," she stammered. She shook her head to clear it. "Is that really you, Mr. Saotome?"

Nabiki wasn't sure how she had expected a panda to answer, but she knew she hadn't expected the large beast to pull a wooden sign seemingly out of nowhere that read "Of course it is. Do you believe in magic, now?"

Soun and Kasumi had been shocked speechless by the demonstration. Finally, Soun recovered and reached for the kettle. "Doused in hot water, you return to human form, right?"

"Yes," replied Genma as Soun poured the water and restored his humanity, "but it needn't be quite that hot."

Soun began to weep once again. "The Legendary Training Ground of Accursed Springs! Its true horror has been shrouded in mystery until now. What pray tell is poor Ranko's curse?"

Genma started to weep. "Ranko's curse is one of the more unusual ones. While most of the springs are cursed with animal transformations that activate with cold water and reverse with hot water, the spring that cursed Ranko is an exception. For one thing, the water acts in reverse: hot water will transform her, while cold water restores her natural form. As for the transformation itself, Ranko fell into the Spring of Drowned Boy. Instead of changing species, she changes gender. In some ways it's better than an animal curse, but in other ways it's caused her no end of problems."

Nabiki just stared at Genma. "You're telling me that the adorably shy girl we met earlier turns into a boy? I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about such a thing happening to me. I can't imagine what it's like for her. Anyway, we'd better make sure Akane knows about this."

Kasumi's face paled. "Oh, dear. I just sent Ranko upstairs to take a bath. You don't think Akane would try to join her, do you?"

Suddenly, the sound of Akane screaming filled the house.

"I think she just did," Nabiki replied.

* * *

Ranko was nervous as she rinsed herself off with a bucket of cold water. "I'd better be careful about the situation this time," she said to herself. "I should just skip soaking in the bathtub for now, and I should avoid as much awkwardness as possible," she continued as she wrapped a long towel around herself. "Sure, I'll still see her naked, but we are married as far as I'm concerned, while she'll have no idea how much I'm gonna enjoy the sight."

After undressing herself, Akane hesitated at the door to the bathroom itself. She briefly considered whether it was a good idea to join Ranko in the bath but decided to go on ahead. She opened the door and went in with her towel in her hand. She found a wet Ranko sitting on the stool wrapped in a towel, not noticing the happy look in her eyes. "You haven't soaked in the tub yet, have you?" she asked.

"Well, no, but...um...I really don't feel like doing so right now," Ranko stammered.

"Nonsense," Akane replied, "you'll feel so much better afterward." She put down her towel and lifted Ranko up by one arm, while Ranko stubbornly held onto her own towel with the other arm. Akane began to pull her over to the bathtub.

"Please, I really don't want to," Ranko complained in a slight panic as she offered some resistance to the pull.

Akane let go of her arm as she got a sneaky look on her face. With a quick motion, she snatched the towel away and pushed Ranko into the tub with a big splash. "I must insist." She started laughing only to stop at the sight of the figure in the tub.

Ranko's hair was now black, while the heavily muscled chest was completely flat. In a panic, Ranko stood up, removing all doubt of his gender. "Akane, I can explain," he attempted in a clearly male voice. He quickly realized what he had shown her and immediately sat back down with his hands around his groin.

Akane just stood there and stared at him for a few seconds, somewhat aware that she was still giving him a full view of her body. 'He's a cross-dresser,' she thought, 'nothing but a perverted transvestite. He dyes his hair, modifies his voice, stuffs his chest, and wears baggy clothes, somehow easily fooling us into thinking he's a girl. Even worse, his parents are in on it.' In her shocked state, she failed to notice that there was no sign of hair dye in the bathtub.

Finally regaining her ability to move, she calmly left the room, closed the door, used the top of her gi as an impromptu bath robe, left the changing room, and closed the changing room door. She took a deep breath and let out a huge scream.

Back in the bathtub, Ranko sighed in defeat as he heard the scream. "Well, that definitely could've gone better. At least I remembered to cover myself up before my male body started having the physical reaction I got from seein' her naked. I'd better go try ta explain things to her. It would probably be best if I turned back into a girl, first." After getting out and draining the tub, he splashed himself with cold water before drying off. Once again in her female body, she got dressed and went to find Akane and the others.

* * *

In an absolute rage, Akane raced downstairs and picked up the tea room table, dumping the tea kettle and cups onto the floor. "I'll drown him in the bathtub!" she shouted.

"Akane, what is it? What's the matter?" asked Kasumi. "What are you doing with that?"

"Ranko's a boy! A cross-dressing pervert!" Akane revealed.

Nabiki decided to have some fun with her ignorant sister. "Well gee, Akane, why didn't you just clobber him, then?"

"Because I got scared, is that alright?!" Akane shouted back.

Nodoka stood up and tried to calm down the enraged girl. "Akane dear, there really is a good explanation for this."

Akane snarled and yelled, "You! You two are almost as bad! You obviously knew about this yet you purposefully brought the sick b****** into our house where he could prey on my sisters and me!"

"Excuse me," came a soft female voice as Ranko entered the room, carrying two glasses of water.

Nabiki took the opportunity to tease her sister even further. "Are you sure Ranko is really a boy? Even in those loose clothes, he appears to have quite a figure. His facial features also look extremely feminine to me. On top of that, I don't know of any guy who can fake such a convincing soprano voice."

Akane took a closer look. Everything Nabiki had said was absolutely true. She would've never guessed that she was looking at a boy if she hadn't seen his body for herself. She finally put down the table and said, "You don't believe me? Fine, I'll prove it!" She marched right up to Ranko. She stood there for a moment with a look of hatred in her eyes and then quickly jammed her knee into Ranko's groin.

To Akane's surprise, Ranko merely gave a short grunt of pain and staggered back a couple of steps, somehow managing to avoid spilling any of the water. "Hey, that hurt" was his only verbal response. Akane started to look confused, as she knew that a boy should be doubled over, groaning in intense pain from such an attack. Nabiki began giggling to herself. Ranko took the opportunity to place the glasses of water down on the table that Akane had abandoned.

Akane wasn't giving up. "He's a martial artist. He obviously has a lot of control over his reaction to pain. He can't explain this, though. What about these fake boobs?" She lifted up Ranko's shirt, exposing her generous assets to everyone in the room.

Soun and Genma blushed and turned away. Kasumi put her hand to her mouth and exclaimed, "Oh, my!" Nodoka reprimanded, "Ranko, what have I told you about wearing bras?" Nabiki was on the floor in fits of laughter by this point.

Akane just stared at what she had unwittingly revealed. Thinking that there had to be some trick to it, she began grabbing and pushing at Ranko's chest. Ranko softly complained, "Um, please stop," although in her mind she was actually saying something more along the lines of 'Ooohh, ahhhh, yes, right there. Don't stop.' Nabiki was now laughing so hard she was having trouble breathing.

Finally, Akane had to concede that Ranko's breasts were quite real, which just confused her even more. With a blush on her face, she removed her hands and allowed Ranko to pull her shirt back down. "I know what I saw," she said. "If that boy in the bathroom wasn't you, then who the h*** was he?"

Ranko walked to the table and picked up the glass that she remembered she had filled with hot water. She poured half the glass over her head and replied in his male voice, "Actually, it _was_ me. I'm also Ranko Saotome. Sorry 'bout this."

Once Akane saw the transformation and heard this reply, her brain shut down being unable to process all of this conflicting information. She collapsed in a dead faint, Ranko managing to catch her before she hit the ground.

* * *

Akane woke up with her head on a throw pillow and Kasumi waving a paper fan in front of her face. Ranko's male face came into view and asked, "Are you all right?" The sight of his face reminded her of what she had seen before passing out. She shrieked and quickly scooted back against the nearest wall. Ranko's eyes grew wide and quickly shifted them to look Akane in the face. "Um, Akane, did you forget that you still aren't wearing anything under that top?" Akane shrieked again and crossed her legs.

She looked Ranko in the eyes and asked, "Did I really see what I thought I saw? Did you really change genders just by pouring water over your head?"

"Yes, I did," Ranko quietly responded with his brilliant blue eyes still locked on hers.

Nervously, Akane asked the question that she needed to have answered before anything else. "So which one are you really? Were you born as a boy or a girl?"

Continuing to play along with the world in which he found himself, although he wished he could do otherwise, he responded, "I was born a girl and stayed that way for the first 16 years of my life. It was only a year and a half ago that I picked up the curse that caused my current condition."

Sighing with relief, Akane stood up and told him, "I'm going to go get dressed. When I get back, I want a full explanation.

* * *

A few minutes later, Akane returned wearing a pink dress over a white blouse. Genma once again explained about Jusenkyo and the curses, while Ranko demonstrated by pouring cold water and then hot water over his/her head. He let Akane herself pour the last of the cold water to restore herself to her natural gender, or the natural one as far as anyone else believed.

Ranko felt like once again bashing her father over the issue and shouted, "This is all your fault, old man! What's the idea of draggin' me to a place like that, anyway, huh?!"

Genma shouted back, "Ranko, were you not prepared to lay down your life for the sake of the Art?!"

Ranko shot back, "My life, yes. My womanhood is another story." She grabbed her father by the arm and threw him into the koi pond, creating instant panda. Akane looked on in awe, this being the first time she had witnessed this particular transformation.

Ranko and Genma started wrestling as Ranko continued, "Ya just had to go find that training ground, even though you didn't speak a word of Chinese."

"Knock if off, you two," complained Nodoka sternly, as she revealed a glimpse of the katana in the cloth wrapped bundle she had been carrying all afternoon. "You've already been at each other several times over this. Stop fighting over what has happened, and put that energy towards finding a cure." Ranko and Genma immediately stopped fighting. The Tendos' all felt an instant rise of both fear and respect for the Saotome matriarch, as they hadn't realized that she was armed or that she could control her rambunctious family so easily.

While Kasumi went to refill the kettle once again for Genma, Ranko looked nervously over at Akane and asked, "So, do ya forgive me for what happened in the bathroom? Can we still be friends?"

Akane looked back and smiled, "Well, since you are a girl and you did try to stop me from pushing you into the bathtub, I forgive you, and I'm sorry I got so upset at you. Of course we can still be friends."

Nabiki chuckled and said, "Now that sounds interesting. I want to hear the full story sometime, perhaps in lieu of some kind of future payment."

Akane groaned. "I'd better warn you, Ranko. Nabiki loves to make money, and one of her favorite hobbies is blackmail," she cautioned her new friend.

Nabiki smirked and replied, "Now now, sis. 'Blackmail' is such a dirty word. I prefer the term 'embarrassment insurance.'" Suddenly remembering something, she asked, "By the way, you two. How did that little sparring match of yours go? Did Akane do a good job of showing why she's the heir to the dojo?"

Akane looked down embarrassed as she tapped her fingers together. Finally, she replied, "Actually, I never stood a chance. I couldn't even touch her. She's on a whole different level from me. It was incredible the way she easily dodged every attack I threw at her. Once I wore myself out, she took me down in just a few seconds. Of course, that just means I need to keep getting stronger myself. I hope you'll help me with that while you're here, Ranko."

Ranko nodded and replied, "Of course. What are friends for?"

Knowing how good her sister was, this actually surprised Nabiki. She had thought that the heir to the other branch of the school would probably be better than Akane due to the continual training Ranko had received from her father, but she didn't expect this large of a distance between their respective skill levels. This information would likely be invaluable at increasing her profits.

Genma, now once again back in human form, took that moment to once again make a fool out of himself. Chulkling, he said, "Well, Tendo, looks like I've got the superior martial artist in my family. My Ranko is even built better than your Akane." Growling, Akane once again picked up the table and this time smashed it over Genma's head. Soun sighed and said, "Now _that_ he had coming."

Kasumi walked in and politely announced, "Everyone, dinner's ready." She saw what had happened and added, "Oh, my! Mr. Saotome, will you be needing the first aid kit?"

Nodoka replied, "Leave my foolish husband for now. He'll be alright, and missing dinner will be the perfect punishment for that pigheaded comment. It's been a long and strange afternoon for all of us, so let's go eat."

Everyone except Genma waited and watched as Kasumi brought the dishes into the tea room (first placing the table back in its proper place and moving Genma's unconscious form aside), happy to have made new friends that day. Ranko, or Ranma as she knew was her true identity, was not as happy as the others. She continued to worry about what was to become of her, especially in regards to her love of Akane. She had to find out what had happened and find a way to return things to normal.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** While the prologue was basically my version of a manga continuation, here you get to see where I'm really going with this story. This is why I felt I had to write both of these chapters first and then post them together at once.

You may have noticed that while I used the last volume of the manga as my reference for the prologue, I used the English dub of the first episode of the animé as my reference for this chapter. While I would've preferred to use the manga, I don't actually own any of it. I currently have the last three volumes checked out from the library, which is why I was able to reference the manga for the prologue (especially important seeing as the animé never even came close to finishing the series).


	3. Chapter 2: The Hentai Horde Reborn

**Chapter 2: The Hentai Horde Reborn**

At dinner, the Tendos were astonished at Ranko's appetite. She just kept eating and eating and eating like a gourmand version of the Energizer Bunny. In practically no time at all, the center of the table was entirely void of leftovers.

Nabiki just stared at Ranko, having lost her own appetite and abandoned her half eaten plate. 'Where the heck does she put it all?' she wondered. 'She's quite a bit smaller and thinner than me, and I would never be able to eat even half as much, at least not without getting extremely fat.'

Akane was not as polite as her older sister. "What are you, part Saiyan?" she asked Ranko in disbelief.

Ranko paused in her attempt to out-duel Takeru Kobayashi. "Huh, what's a 'say-in?'" she asked, having never gotten the chance to read much manga nor watch much animé due to the ten year training trip from her real life.

"Never mind," Akane continued. "I just mean to ask why you're eating so much. It almost seems like you've surpassed the size of your stomach. Do you always eat this much?"

"Well, it's not like she hasn't had practice breaking the Law of Conservation of Mass with that transformation of hers," Nabiki smirked.

Ranko answered, "Actually, yes, I do usually eat this much. For one thing, I burn up a ton of calories with my training and all the fights I get into. I'm pretty sure my training has also greatly increased my metabolibum, or wuzzit called, so that I digest my food very fast." She smirked and added, "Just be glad Pop isn't awake. He eats even more than I do and likes to try ta steal the food off my plate. By the way, Nabiki, are ya gonna finish that?"

Nabiki shook her head and pushed her plate over to Ranko. "I think you'd better start preparing bigger meals, Kasumi, or the rest of us are going to starve," she warned her surrogate mother.

Nodoka sighed. "Don't worry about the cost. We'll gladly pay for our own food."

"But you're guests," Soun tried to explain.

"Soun," Nodoka interrupted, "guests stay for just a few days at most. We've basically moved in. You don't have to charge us rent, but I insist that we pay for our own share of household expenses. As soon as we can find a place that will hire him to do something he won't screw up, Genma _will_ be getting a job."

By this point, Ranko had finished off her last plate of food as well as Nabiki's plate and was leaning back finally satisfied. At this point, Genma sat up while rubbing his head. "Is dinner ready yet?" he asked only to stare at the sight of all the empty dishes on the table. "What's the meaning of this?" he asked angrily.

"This is what happens when you insult the bust size of one of your hosts," Nodoka answered flatly. "You could stand to lose a few kilos, anyway."

Grumbling, Genma walked away to find the snacks he had hidden in his suitcase.

* * *

After everything was cleaned up, everyone stayed in the tea room for some after dinner conversation. As he was already in a bad mood, Nodoka decided against bringing up the issue of Genma getting a job, but there were still some things left to discuss.

"Once again, thank you for letting us stay here, Soun. You've been too kind," Nodoka began.

"Nonsense," Soun replied. "It would've been dishonorable to ignore my friends in their time of need."

Nodoka continued. "The moving truck will be here sometime tomorrow morning with the rest of our things. We don't have much, particularly after our house collapsed, but we managed to salvage several things we needed to bring along."

Soun nodded and thought of something. "I guess we should discuss sleeping arrangements. I was thinking that you and Genma could take the guest room, while Ranko can share with Akane. They seem to be getting along well, all things considered with that misunderstanding in the bathroom."

Nodoka frowned as she and Ranko quickly glanced at each other. "I'm not sure if I really want Ranko to share a room with Akane or either of your other daughters. Are you sure you don't have any other rooms available?"

Soun nervously pulled at his collar. "Well, I do have one other room, but it's unfortunately not suitable for anyone right now. My old martial arts master was staying here for a while, but we had a kind of falling out, and he left behind several potentially dangerous items. I don't want anyone in there until I can find a way to safely get rid of them."

Nodoka sighed. "In that case, I guess Ranko can stay with Akane." She gave Ranko a look of warning.

Genma had gone pale at Soun's explanation. "That reminds me, Tendo, exactly when did the Master escape?"

Soun sighed, knowing that he owed Genma a full explanation, "I suppose it would've been foolish to think you wouldn't have noticed the reappearance of the world's biggest pervert running loose across town."

"Quite right, Tendo," confirmed Genma. "After I first saw him again, I tried to ignore him as just another Nerimian weirdo in order to hide my embarrassing connection to him as well as to keep my family uninvolved. I should've known it wouldn't work with Ranko's tendency to get involved with everything weird that happens around her. She first came across the Master when she got involved with those Amazon love pills we told you about earlier. Master Happosai had stolen them from the Amazon village in his youth without knowing what they were until he crossed paths with the Amazon Elder Cologne here in Nerima. At that point, though, neither Ranko nor the Master had realized their connection through me."

"That reminds me," Ranko interrupted. "I bet Cologne could help you out with those dangerous items Happosai left behind. I'll talk to her about it the next time I get a chance."

"Anyway," Genma continued, "I eventually had to admit everything when this punk kid with a strange Jusenkyo curse, some weird combination of animals that made him look like a flying bull, came attacking us looking for the Master as the only one who could change the perverted name the Master had given him at his birth. I'll tell you the full story later. Not surprisingly, the Master took a strong interest in Ranko, both as a very powerful heir to one of the branches of the School and as a beautiful girl to, well, you know. Ever since then, he's come by every once in a while to stir up trouble or just to jump into Ranko's chest."

Soun began to weep. "I'm afraid to say I have acted even more shamefully than you in this regard. He escaped the cave in which we sealed him a little over a year ago. It didn't take him long to find his way here. You know how afraid we've always been of him and with good reason. I agreed to let him stay here in my cowardice and continued to harbor him as he restarted his old hobby of stealing women's underwear."

"Even worse than that is the fact that I had given him easy access to my daughters. He wasted no time going after them whenever he was in the mood. Akane was the only one willing to stand up to him. She never had much success at fighting him off, and her resistance only convinced the old lech to make her his favorite target. Between the Master's constant hounding and the situation she has with some of the boys at school, she was starting to fall into depression. One day, I found her crying in her room where she told me how afraid she was that the Master would grow tired of merely molesting her and one day cross the line to rape. At that point, I realized how badly I had failed her and wasted no time kicking the lecherous gnome out of the house and turning him into the police. Of course, he swore vengeance, but he hasn't tried anything yet. Hopefully, together we can keep him from doing anything too nasty."

Kasumi sensed the somber mood and tried to lighten things up by changing the subject. "Ranko, you'll be attending Furinkan High with Akane and Nabiki starting tomorrow, isn't that right?" Ranko groaned, as she felt talking about school was only slightly better than talking about Happosai.

"That's correct," Nodoka confirmed. "I took care of your registration and bought your uniforms earlier today, dear."

Ranko groaned again, realizing what school uniforms meant in a world where everyone thinks she's a girl. "Do I have to wear those uniforms?" she asked in desperation.

"Yes," Nodoka replied, "and you'll be wearing proper underwear underneath as well. As long as you take some precautions, you can keep your curse from becoming too big of a problem. I know you'll want to try to keep it a secret from the other students as long as possible, but I did inform the staff just in case your cover does get blown. I don't think they believed me, but they promised to control things if something does happen."

Ranko sighed in defeat. "I guess that's okay, Mom."

At this point, the conversation shifted to more tales of the weirdness in Ranko's life, including the full story of Pantyhose Taro. Everyone got a big laugh over Ranko's crazy idea to trick Happosai into changing Taro's name and the fact that the idea had actually worked for a little while. Eventually, everyone headed to bed.

* * *

Eventually, morning came as it always does. Before long, Ranko and Akane started walking to school together, Ranko walking atop the fence as she liked to do.

Akane looked curiously at Ranko and asked, "Are you sure you should be walking up there?"

Ranko shrugged and replied, "It's okay. I do this all the time. It's just a little bit of balance training."

"That's not what I mean," Akane corrected. "Aren't you afraid of giving people a free show under your dress?"

Ranko replied, "Mom agreed I could wear a pair of shorts underneath to solve that problem."

Just then, they passed a group of men working on a busted water pipe. All of a sudden, they accidentally released a stream from one of the hot water pipes, which made a direct hit on Ranko. Ranko immediately felt pain in several areas of his now male body. Having prepared for this, he jumped off the fence, removed his shoes in mid-air, and landed safely. He then quickly unstrapped his bra, pulled out a large opaque poncho from his school bag, and slipped it over his head. He slipped his bra into his school bag to avoid any misunderstandings holding it in public might cause.

Akane, who hadn't been touched by a drop of water, looked over at him. "Wow, what are the odds that you of all people would accidentally get hit with hot water like that?"

Ranko chuckled and replied, "Quite a bit higher than you would think. The thing about us Jusenkyo victims is that we're also water magnets. We get hit on accident by the wrong kinds of water all the time, often for maximum embarrassment potential. That's why I knew I had to be prepared like this. Thank goodness for front-strapping bras." 'Hopefully I won't attract hot water as much as I always did with cold water,' he thought to himself.

Akane grabbed his arm and started pulling him down the street, his shoes still in one hand. "Well, we need to change you back before we can go to school. Dr. Tofu's clinic is nearby, so we can borrow some cold water there."

* * *

"Hello? Hello, anyone here?" Akane asked as she opened the door to the clinic. "Morning." Still getting no response, she turned to Ranko. "Wait here. I'll go borrow some cold water." Akane opened another door and went further into the clinic.

Ranko stood in the open doorway and sighed. "Oh, boy. What a way to start things off. Now I'm going to be late."

All of a sudden, something grabbed his shoulder. When he saw that it was a skeleton hand, he shouted out in surprise, jumped up, and grabbed onto the door frame. "Pardon me," he heard in a falsetto voice as the skeleton brought its hand to its forehead. Chuckling, Dr. Tofu stepped forward holding his skeleton. 'Darn it! He got me again!' Ranko thought as he jumped back to the floor.

Dr. Tofu introduced his skeleton, unaware that the boy in front in him had already heard this once before. "Hi. Don't be afraid. This is Betty, my skeleton. Lovely complexion, don't you think?"

Akane came running over. "Ranko, here's the cold- oh, Dr. Tofu. Good morning to you."

"Good morning to you," he replied. "You haven't been by lately. No new injuries?"

"No, sir," Akane replied."

"So who's this young man?" Tofu asked, changing the subject. "Don't tell me Little Miss 'I Hate Boys' actually has a boyfriend."

Akane's face paled at the implication. "He's definitely not my type." She shuddered at the thought. "You know how the Saotome family moved in with us yesterday?"

"Yes," replied Tofu. "I'll be by for dinner tonight to meet them for myself, but I thought they only had a daughter."

Akane smiled and replied, "Well, appearances can be deceiving." She poured a cup of cold water over Ranko's head, invoking the transformation. "Meet Ranko Saotome," she introduced as Ranko pulled off her poncho revealing her Furinkan High girl's uniform. Ranko gave her usual line. "Sorry 'bout this."

Tofu stumbled back a couple of steps in surprise before losing his balance completely, falling on his rear with Betty landing in his lap. Shaking his head to clear it, he responded in amazement, "What just happened? I've never seen anything like it before! You just shrank several centimeters and instantly changed your hair color. I also could've sworn you looked and sounded like a boy."

Ranko turned her back to Tofu as she zipped down the back of her dress then pulled out and began putting her bra back on. ("Ranko, find somewhere private to do that kind of thing," Akane whispered in disgust.) Ranko gave him a quick explanation. "I didn't just look and sound like a boy. I was completely male when you first saw me. Me 'an Pop each picked up a water-based curse while training in China. Wait 'til ya see what happens to Pop." With her bra in place, she re-zipped her dress and pulled at her waist to readjust things there. "By the way, you have no idea how uncomfortable it is to be a guy wearing panties that are several sizes too small." Akane and Tofu both face faulted.

* * *

Ranko and Akane were now running the rest of the way to school, Ranko up on a side wall, after the unexpected delay. "So that's Kasumi's fiance, huh? So he studies martial arts?" Ranko asked.

Akane replied, "Yes, that's him. How could you tell he's a martial artist?"

Ranko explained, "I can tell, sneaking up on me that way. I didn't even hear 'im coming."

"True, he's very good," Akane confirmed. "He's a really strong martial artist. He certainly doesn't look it, does he? Even since I was little, whenever something was wrong, he'd always make it better." Akane giggled and continued. "Before he finally got together with Kasumi, I actually had a crush on him for a while. I even grew my hair out trying to impress him, although I prefer it this way."

Ranko jumped down from the wall and began running aside Akane. "Hey, wait a second," she teased. "I thought you said you hated guys."

"That's right," Akane shouted angrily. "I HATE BOYS!"

As they approached the school, all of a sudden, some upbeat music began to play, the kind you might hear in an animé theme song. As the gate came into view, at least a couple of dozen boys, most of them in some kind of athletic uniform and/or carrying sporting equipment started running towards them.

"I REALLY, REALLY HATE BOYS!" Akane repeated for emphasis.

Ranko groaned. 'Oh no, not this again, although I guess it's only to be expected.'

"Akane Tendo, I love you! This is for you," one of them shouted. Ranko jumped on the school wall and watched with a smile as Akane easily fought and knocked them all out in just a little over a minute, ignoring Nabiki's warning to stop gawking and get to class on time. One of the last ones to fall was carrying a boom box, which broke and cut off the music.

"Honestly, you'd think they would've all learned by now," Akane commented to no one in particular.

All of a sudden, a red rose was tossed in her direction, which she snatched out of midair with a disgusted look on her face. From behind a tree stepped a young man in samurai robes carrying a bokken. He began spouting some bad poetry lines about a rose on a virgin thorn. He surveyed the boys who had already fallen. "These weaklings, such a boorish lot, truly. They fought for the privilege of your company, Akane, if they could manage to defeat you, that is. What fools these mortals be!"

Akane tried to walk around him. "Oh, Kuno, excuse me."

Kuno blocked her path. "Oh, though she be but little, she is fierce." He pointed his bokken directly at her. "Wilt thou spar with me?"

That was Ranko's cue. She jumped down next to Akane and teased, "Man, you sure are popular with the guys around here."

"Just stay out of the way, or you're going to get hurt," Akane warned.

Kuno pointed his bokken at the newcomer and shouted, "You there. Aren't you being awfully familiar with Akane?"

"Well, yeah," Ranko admitted.

Kuno began to get angry. "Who do you think you are, you insolent whelp? Tell me how you know Akane."

"Well, I'm-," Ranma began only to be interrupted by Kuno.

"Wait! Is it not the custom to give one's own name first? Fine then, mine I shall give. I am the undefeated captain of this school's kendo club, the rising new star of the high school fencing world. The sound of my voice strikes fear into the hearts of my enemies. My peers call me the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, Tatewaki Kuno, age 18." A rumble of thunder sounded in the distance as he finished. 'I still don't know how he does that,' Ranko thought.

"Well, I'm staying at the Tendos'," Ranko answered.

Kuno thought about this as he looked her over but dismissed her as no real threat. "Very well. I have no quarrel with you. Leave us to our spar, and I shall let you be."

Ranko glanced away for a second as she noticed something then turned back to Kuno. "I'm afraid I can't do that. Somethin' tells me that you're the cause of all this madness in Akane's life. You disgust me. Akane's my friend, and I'm gonna put a stop to this once and for all." He tossed his school bag and bento to Akane and took a fighting pose. "My name is Ranko Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts. I challenge you to a duel right here and now. You can use that stick of yours if you wanna, while I'll fight unarmed. If I win, you and all the other boys have ta stop attackin' Akane. I'm sure you can convince the others. If you win, I'll go on a date with ya."

Kuno thought it over. "I don't know. You are fiery and attractive, yet I hardly know thee. Me thinks I might be better off continuing to try and defeat the fair Akane Tendo to date with her."

Having witnessed enough of Ranko's skill to be able to easily predict the winner of the proposed match, Akane decided she had to up the ante for Ranko's plan to work. "Then let's throw in a bonus. If you can defeat Ranko, then I'll also go on a date with you."

There were several gasps and murmurs from the gathering students at this addition to the stakes. "What's Akane doing?" "Has she lost her mind?" "Has she finally given up?" "It's been over a year. Why would she give up now?" "Anyone would get tired of this eventually." "But this is Kuno she'll have to date."

Kuno couldn't pass up this opportunity. "Very well, I accept the stakes and your challenge, but we shall wait a couple of minutes until an appropriate audience has gathered to witness my splendid victory."

Word soon spread and the entire student body soon gathered in the front courtyard. More murmuring occurred amongst the students. "What's going on?" "Didn't you hear, the new girl is going to fight Kuno." "You mean the small one with the pigtail over there? Is she crazy?" "Only Akane has ever stood a chance against Kuno. He's gonna destroy her." "Someone get the nurse, fast." "Is she some kind of masochist?" "You're saying she has to date Kuno if she loses? She must be pretty easy. I should ask her out once her injuries heal."

Meanwhile, Nabiki and her friends were taking bets on the fight. 'I'll have to thank Ranko later,' Nabiki thought. 'Not only is she getting Kuno and the others off of Akane's back, but I'm going to make a fortune off of this.'

When they were ready, Akane stepped forward as referee. "This is a duel between Tatewaki Kuno and Ranko Saotome. You may begin." She quickly jumped back out of the way.

Kuno shouted and charged forward. He thrust forward a few times, but Ranko easily avoided the strikes. He swung across only for Ranko to duck under the swing. A second lower horizontal strike was avoided as Ranko back-flipped away. Kuno rushed forward and swung once more. Ranko flipped over the blow, which was strong enough to cut down the tree just behind her.

Ranko landed perched on Kuno's head. She bent over to look him in the face and taunted, "C'mon Kuno, you can do better than that." "Fight me, you coward," Kuno complained as he attempted an upward thrust towards his unwanted head ornament, but Ranko had already jumped to the ground.

Kuno turned and charged her with an overhead strike, only for Ranko to jump several meters, kick her shoes off in mid-air, and land perfectly balanced on his outstretched wooden sword. "Alright, you asked for it," she replied as she kicked him in the face. Kuno lost hold of his bokken and fell to the ground.

Ranko flipped the dropped bokken into the air with her foot and caught it. She then held it out to her downed opponent. "Get up, Kuno. I didn't kick you that hard. I can tell you're holding back. Is that 'cause I'm just a girl? Ya need to start fightin' serious if you're gonna have any chance of winning." 'Not that he has a chance in h***, anyway,' she thought.

Kuno slowly got up and accepted his bokken. "The vengeance of heaven is slow but sure. Very well. I will fight as if my very life depended on it, but know this, you have sealed your fate as well as the fate of Akane Tendo. You shall both date with me."

Kuno began thrusting over and over at near inhuman speed as he kept calling out, "Strike, strike, strike!" The crowd of students was shocked at both Kuno's true skill and Ranko's ability to somehow avoid every strike. Ranko jumped away as the force of the air pressure shattered a small statue that had been behind her.

Kuno continued his assault until Ranko got in close enough to catch the bokken with her hands. She then fell back, placed her foot on Kuno's chest, and flipped him over her back. Kuno groaned in pain but managed to get back to his feet.

Ranko tossed the bokken aside. "It's time to end this," she yelled as she ran forward. "KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" Her hands blurred as she punched Kuno dozens of times in only a few seconds. Kuno fell to the ground, out like a light. Cheers rang out throughout the crowd, as nobody really liked Kuno, and many of them had always been disgusted at the daily attacks on Akane. The nurse who had been expecting to treat Ranko instead ran over to where Kuno lay on the ground.

Many of the boys who had been part of those morning assaults stepped forward to Akane. The one picked to be the spokesman announced, "Akane, we're giving up on attacking you. Kuno was Furinkan's greatest champion." "He was also its greatest pervert," another chimed in. The first one continued, "However, Saotome has defeated him fair and square. We accept the terms of the duel."

Ranko collected her shoes as she dodged students attempting to ask her questions and made her way over to Nabiki as Akane also approached her sister. "So how'd you make out on the fight, sis?" Akane asked.

Nabiki smiled. "Oh, I made out quite well, thanks to you, Ranko. I just didn't do as well as I thought I would. There were only two winners, but they both bet very large amounts like they already knew Ranko would win."

Akane looked puzzled. "Hmm, that's odd. Who are the lucky winners?"

"Ukyo Kuonji and Hikaru Gosunkugi," Nabiki replied.

Akane recognized those names, as they were two of Furinkan's odder students, and one of them was also in her class. "The girl with the spatula and voodoo boy? I wonder why they bet on Ranko."

Ranko nodded. "Well, of course Ukyo bet on me. She's actually an old friend of mine and knows what I'm capable of. I don't know about Gosunkugi, though."

Finally, the vice-principal shouted over the crowd. "Now that we've all had our fun, everyone needs to get to class right now. This kind of conduct is not acceptable. Next time, detentions will be handed out even if we have to keep the entire student body after school." This got everyone's attention, and they slowly began filing back into the school.

* * *

With everyone finally in class, Akane's homeroom teacher made an announcement: "It seems we have a new student here at Furinkan High. Her name is Ranko Saotome. She's moved her from the other side of Nerima, so let's all give her a warm welcome. I understand you're staying with the Tendo family, so why don't you sit at that empty desk next to Miss Tendo. Don't be a delinquent, and we won't have any problems. Ranko faked a look of surprise at how her "new" teacher appeared to be a 12 year old girl fingering a 5 yen piece. She took her seat and class began.

* * *

Finally, it was time for Ranko's favorite period: lunch. It was a nice day, so Akane led Ranko outside to eat. Along the way, Ranko was asked out for a date by several boys, only to gently turn down each one with a response that she wasn't yet looking to date anyone, while she nearly lost her appetite over the concept of dating boys.

Akane found her friends and sat down to join them, silently motioning Ranko to do the same. As they opened their lunches and began to eat, introductions were made. "Ranko, these are my best friends, Sayuri and Yuka. Girls, this is my new friend, Ranko. She and her parents are currently living with us."

Sayuri responded first. "It's nice to meet you, Ranko. Thank you for finally putting that jerk Kuno in his place. We've been worried about how his attacks were affecting Akane."

"Yeah," Yuka agreed. "Maybe now Akane can finally get over her issue with boys and get a boyfriend." She and Sayuri both giggled.

"Yuka!" Akane complained, her cheeks red.

"Oh relax, we're just teasing you," said Yuka. "So how do your families know each other? Is it because of martial arts?"

"Yeah," answered Ranko. "My pop and her father are old friends and training partners. Together, our families comprise the two branches of the Anything-Goes School."

Sayuri nodded. "That makes sense. I have to admit that I didn't think anyone could get much better than Akane, but you were simply amazing. I didn't even think it was possible to move at the speed you did during that last technique! It could use a better name, though. Chestnuts roasting on a open fire?"

Ranko sighed, "It's a long story."

Suddenly, a girl with long brown hair and a giant spatula strapped to the back of her dress came running over and hugged Ranko. "Ranchan, it so good to see you! I'm so glad that you're now going to Furinkan High as well." She realized that hadn't come out quite right and hastily amended her greeting. "I mean, it was terrible that your house collapsed, and I'm so sorry I helped cause it, but at least we can see each other more often now."

Ranko smiled and returned the greeting. "I'm glad to see you too, Ucchan." At first Ranko had been thrown off by the girl's uniform and hair ribbon she was wearing, but she soon realized that with her as a girl, there was no broken engagement and therefore no reason for Ucchan to suppress her femininity.

She turned to the others. "This is my oldest friend, Ukyo or Ucchan as I call her. She makes the best okonomiyaki. Ucchan, this is my new friend and roommate Akane and her friends Sayuri and Yuka."

Sayuri replied, "You own that okonomiyaki restaurant, Ucchan's, don't you? That is so cool! I guess we now know where that name comes from."

Yuka was curious. "So you've known Ranko for a long time, right? How did you two meet and become friends?"

Ranko wasn't sure how much of that story was true any more, so she needed to play it safe. "Ucchan, why don't you tell them the story?"

"Sure, Ranchan," Ukyo began. "When we were both six years old, Ranko and her father came to my hometown for one of their training trips. My father owned an okonomiyaki cart, and with their stomachs, it wasn't long before they stopped by. Ranko and I quickly became friends, and we played together nearly every day. We would spar to see if Ranko could get past me to win a free okonomiyaki from my father's cart, and of course she nearly always beat me. After a couple of months, the Saotomes needed to return home, so we had to say goodbye."

"Last year, my father sent me to Nerima to try my hand at running my own place while living on my own, and it wasn't long before Ranko showed up, renewing our friendship." She began giggling. "The funny thing is that we had both mistaken each other as boys when we had initially met, so it was quite a shock when we met again and discovered that we were actually both girls. I don't know about Ranko, but I had previously thought on occasion that she would make a good boyfriend if I ever met her again." This comment caused everyone to laugh, although Ranko was actually laughing over the irony of it.

Akane calmed down and asked, "You said you and Ranko would spar? Does that mean that you're also a martial artist?"

Ukyo smiled and replied, "Well, not really in the traditional sense. I practice Martial Arts Okonomiyaki. That's partially why I carry around this battle spatula."

At the stunned looks on the others' faces, Ranko added. "You'd be surprised just how many weird styles of martial arts are out there. I once ran into a guy who practices Martial Arts Tea Ceremony." The others just rolled their eyes in disbelief, certain in their minds that Ranko was now just teasing them.

Reminded of something, Ranko frowned and turned back to Ukyo. "Ucchan, speaking of your style of martial arts, you could've beat Kuno yourself at any time after comin' to Furinkan High. Why didn't cha ever stop him?"

Ukyo eyes filled with guilt as she answered. "When I first came, I seriously considered giving that perverted jerk a good beating, but I thought it was unlikely to get him to stop, and I was afraid that it would only convince him to stalk me as well. I wish I had thought of turning it into a bet like you did. I'm sorry, Akane. I know that b****** put you through h***."

Akane smiled. "It's okay, Ukyo. It's not your fault. Kuno is the one to blame. I guess I never explained this, Ranko, but the reason for those morning attacks is because of a stupid speech Kuno made when I started high school. He announced that only someone who defeated me in combat was allowed to date me like he owned me or something. I've long been popular with the boys at school, so when Kuno effectively called an opening to a permanent 'Akane Hunting Season,' this was the result. At least it's over now."

"I wouldn't be too sure, sugar" Ukyo warned. "You only got him to agree to stop attacking you. He's still free to hit on you whenever he feels like it. Not only that, but he's probably far from done with you, Ranchan. If nothing else, he's going to want to keep challenging you, and, unless I've missed my guess, he might be developing a romantic obsession with you to go along with the one he has on Akane. He strikes me as the kind of guy who falls for the girls who beat him up." 'You've hit the nail on the head there, Ucchan,' Ranko thought sadly.

Eventually, lunch time was over, forcing the five girls to return to class.

* * *

It was now the last period of the day and the one Ranko had been fearing the most: gym class. Normally, Ranko was very fond of gym. However, there was now a big complication in play. As a girl, Ranko was now required to change and shower in the girls' locker room. Most guys would've loved to have free access to the girls' locker room, but Ranko didn't think that way. True, she had once tried to get into this very room to search for the Japanese Nannichuan, but even then she hadn't tried to peek at any of the girls. Even when she was a guy, she had always considered it extremely wrong to peek at girls, and she had always felt it to be her responsibility not to misuse her female body for such crude measures. The many times Akane had mistaken her for a pervert and hit her for it only strengthened her resolve.

Gulping, she entered the normally forbidden zone with Akane and followed her to a corner of the room, mostly looking at the floor. "Can I use a locker near yours?" She asked, figuring that if she was going to accidentally see one of the girls naked, it would be better if that girl was her wife, and luckily the two of them were pretty isolated from the others.

"Sure, Ranko," she replied. "We'd better hurry up and get changed. I hear we're playing softball today."

Ranko quickly changed into the girls' gym uniform she had been provided, keeping herself facing the lockers, and followed Akane outside to the field.

Ranko had a great time in her first softball game. Although she was familiar with most of the basic rules, she had never actually played the game (nor its more famous sibling, baseball), before. Playing third base, she had astounded everyone by jumping over 5 meters into the air to catch a line drive. At the plate, she had struck out in her first two at-bats as she got used to the timing involved. Her third time up, she laced a line drive just foul into the left field corner that actually went _through_ the outfield wall. On the next pitch, she hit a home run so far it left school property. With Akane pitching for her side, they easily won the game.

The girls all reentered the locker room and headed for the shower area. Ranko hated cold showers, but she had no choice. After getting it over with, she wrapped her towel around herself for a minute for some warmth before she would dry herself off completely.

Unfortunately, fate chose that minute to mess with her once again. "Hey, Ranko!" she heard as Yuka came over to join her after taking her shower. Without thinking, Ranko looked up at her and immediately wish she hadn't. A feeling of lust shot through Ranko's body, as Yuka had her towel wrapped around her hair, allowing Ranko full view of her birthday suit. "You were amazing out there in the field! Have you thought about joining any of our sports teams? With both you and Akane, we can't lose!"

Fighting a nosebleed, Ranko forced her eyes above the neckline and answered, "I'm just tryin' ta get used to things here, first. I'm not ready to try any extra-curricular activities." 'Hopefully, I can get things back to normal fast, and then it won't matter.'

Yuka's face showed her disappointment. "Well, that's too bad. Think about it for next term. We could really use you."

As Yuka walked away, Ranko let out a huge breath of relief. She finished drying herself off, carefully walked back to her locker, and changed back into her regular uniform without further incident.

* * *

As Ranko had expected, she found Akane waiting for her to walk home together. Normally, she would've done just that, but today was an important exception. "Yo, Akane!" She approached her best friend and, unbeknownst to anyone else, lover. "You're gonna have ta walk home without me today. I've got somethin' I need ta take care off." Akane accepted this excuse and started to leave. Ranko waited by the school gate, and sure enough, her target soon came into view. 'Finally, I'm gonna get some answers,' she thought mischievously.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I'm sorry if you found the after-dinner conversation a little boring. I found it necessary to add some more exposition that didn't fit into the previous chapter.

So, how did you like the fight against Kuno? I admit I borrowed heavily from all the fights in Kuno's introductory arc and somewhat cobbled them together, but I think it turned out pretty well while also showcasing how completely outmatched Kuno is from all the training Ranma's done in the canon time-line. Of course, she still held back a lot, as going all-out against a D List opponent (by Nerimian standards, anyway) like Kuno would've been extreme overkill.

By the way, I've reposted Chapter 1 with a few minor fixes and edits, including fixing the scene breaks that I had messed up the first time and fixing a minor plot hole I had previously missed.

Anyway, next time the full effects and conditions of Gosunkugi's spell will be revealed. Stay tuned!


	4. Chapter 3: Revelations

**Chapter 3: Revelations**

At first the day had seemed like any other to Hikaru Gosunkugi, other than the fact that he had woken up on the floor still wearing his clothes from the day before. He shrugged off the minor annoyance and got ready for school like on any other school day. He was, however, a little more depressed than usual, as he had assumed that his spell had failed like all the others, which meant he had to face the fact that Akane Tendo, now Akane Saotome, was forever lost to him.

He managed to arrive at school a little early and so decided to stupor for a while sitting against a tree for a few minutes before he needed to head to class. He was so absorbed in his own misery that he failed to notice when Akane was once again assaulted by a large percentage of the male student body, an event that hadn't occurred for over a year. He finally took notice, though, when he heard the confident, unmistakable voice of girl-type Ranma saying, "Man, you sure are popular with the guys around here."

Gosunkugi stared in awe, as not only had Saotome shown up to school in girl form, a rare occurrence in itself, but he was actually wearing a Furinkan High girl's uniform, something he had previously only done as part of a disguise, which made no sense at the moment. As he watched his newest confrontation with Kuno, he realized the Kuno was somehow unaware of whom he was threatening. Although Kuno never had understood Saotome's curse, he couldn't have just forgotten about his "pig-tailed goddess." Furthermore, the situation unfolding was eerily similar to the day Saotome had first transferred to Furinkan High apart from her current gender.

As Kuno's special effect sounded in the sky, it came to him what must have happened. His spell had actually worked! The Tendos now believed Saotome was truly a girl, while everyone at school had forgotten him completely. If Saotome were a girl, he couldn't marry Akane, and Akane would no longer be in love with him. He lost control for a moment, as he shouted out, "Yes, it worked! It actually worked." He quickly calmed down as he realized his mistake. He panicked for a second, as it had appeared that Saotome had glanced his way after his outburst, but he relaxed when Saotome ignored him and issued her challenge to Kuno.

He listened as Saotome, Kuno, and Akane set up the terms for the upcoming duel. He grinned, as he realized another golden opportunity had been dropped in his lap. As usual, Kuno wouldn't stand a chance against Saotome, but hardly anybody else was yet aware of that fact. Nabiki Tendo had long ago stopped taking bets on their extremely predictable mismatched fights, but the situation had now changed. It didn't take long to find one of Nabiki's friends asking for bets on the fight. He wagered a good majority of his life savings and watched with glee as Saotome mopped the floor with Kuno once again, this time even more entertaining than usual, having done it as a cute redhead in a dress. (He mentally slapped himself as he chastised, 'You can't think like that. He's still a guy.') After the vice-principal broke things up, he went to class happier than he had been in a long time. 'Finally, everything is going right for me.' He would change his mind by the end of the afternoon.

* * *

Now that school was over, Gosunkugi had his first chance with Akane. He would have to start slowly and build her trust through friendship first. After all, the aggressive way certainly didn't work with her as Kuno and those other perverts had proven. It took him a little longer than he had hoped to secure his belongings and reach the front of the school after his last class, but he was rewarded as he saw Akane leave through the front gate. Even better, she was alone.

He ran after her to catch up, starting to shout out her name, "A-Aka-," when someone grabbed him. His stomach did a flip as he was dragged through several fast leaps in the air before being dropped to the ground among some bushes behind the equipment shed. He looked up and started to tremble, as Saotome was standing over him without another soul in sight.

He had expected an angry look on Saotome's face, but it instead held a cheerful grin. Maybe his secret was still safe after all. Once she began to speak, however, he almost wished Saotome had discovered his secret. "Hello there, handsome. I'm sorry about the unprepared trip, but I just had ta getcha alone with me." She batted her eyes attractively as Gosunkugi gulped. "You're Hikaru Gosunkugi, right? I'm Ranko Saotome, although you probably already know that by now. Anyway, I've been watching you, and I think you're kinda cute in your own way."

Gosunkugi heart began pounding in his chest at this unnatural flattery. "S-Saotome, I-I-," he managed to stutter until she placed her fingers to his lips. "Please, Hikaru, don't be so formal. Just call me Ranko." She then giggled in a way that Saotome would've never been caught dead doing in his male form before continuing. "Is it true that you practice voodoo? I think that's so cool! I'd love it if you would take me out for some ice cream right now." She spoke in a way that would've melted his heart had she been an actual girl asking him out. Instead, he was only getting more and more creeped out by the second.

He began sweating as he started scooting away while trying to find his voice. Saotome was having none of that, however, as she pounced on him and pinned his back to the ground. His face went pale as his eyes focused for a second on the rather large pair of mounds hanging in the air over him, only to look into Saotome's face as she continued her torture. With a seductive smile on her face, she went for broke. "It's okay if you don't want to go for ice cream. I can think of some fun things we can do right here, and they work better in private, anyway." She lowered her face towards his with puckered lips, making it very obvious what she wanted to do.

Gosunkugi broke out of his shock as he realized what was about to happen. Screaming, he pushed her away hard and rose to his feet. Using a tree for support, he panted heavily as he caught his breath. He glared at the confused looking redhead climbing to her feet and finally found his voice. "D*** it, Saotome. What the h*** are you doing? You're not supposed to be affected."

Ranko's face now held her trademark cocky grin as she pouted, "What's the matter, Hikaru? Any other guy at this school would've jumped at the chance to date a beautiful girl like me, and they'd be over the moon if I were to throw myself at 'em like I just did with you." Suddenly, the timbre of her voice switched from the seductive one she had been using to the one she normally used. "It's almost like you think I'm really a guy, but that can't be it, can it?"

Gosunkugi gulped as he realized what was really going on with Saotome's strange behavior. On the slight chance that she was talking about something other than his spell, he tried for some plausible deniability. "Saotome, I d-don't know what you're talking about? I'm just really sh-shy around g-girls."

Ranko grabbed him by the front of his uniform jacket and lifted him in the air. "Cut the c***, Gosunkugi. Yesterday, everyone knew I was a guy with a girl curse, well almost everyone, and I had been living with the Tendos and attending school here for well over a year. Today, everyone thinks I'm a girl including my own parents, while the Tendos and nearly everyone here thinks they've never met me before. I know this is your fault, so spill."

Gosunkugi squirmed in Ranko's grip, as he foolishly responded, "I'm sorry about your gender issues, but I don't see how you can blame me. A shrink would be able to help you more than a failed voodoo practitioner like me." He was rewarded for his efforts with a quick punch to his gut.

Ranko's began glowing a little as she acidly responded, "Make another cute remark like that, an' the next blow is goin' where the sun don't shine. I know you remember what I do, and I know you musta caused it. When I was goin' after Kuno, you were happier than I've ever seen ya, shoutin' about somethin' "working." I knew you were involved once I heard about the large bet you placed in my favor on the fight, somethin' you wouldn't have known ta do if you were under the spell like everyone else. Your motive was obvious, so I just waited for you to make your pathetically predictable move on Akane to grab you for our little chat.

Gosunkugi knew the jig was up as he silently cursed himself for making those foolish mistakes. Curiously, he asked, "If you knew as far back as this morning, why did you resort to all that creepy flirting?"

Ranko grinned as she replied, "Three reasons: First, it was a way to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you do remember me as a guy. Second, it was fun watching your squirm in response to my advances. Third, you had it coming after what you did."

She turned with Gosunkugi still in her strong grip and began walking back towards the school entrance. "You are gonna behave while I take you home. I still remember where ya live from when you challenged me with that stupid battle armor. Once we get there, you are gonna explain ta me exactly what your spell did and how to break it. Meanwhile, until I can break it, you're gonna stay the h*** away from my girl."

Gosunkugi gathered up his last remaining courage. "Why should I help you? I finally got a spell to work, and now you can't marry Akane, while I now have another chance. I'm not just going to give that up."

Ranko's glare was menacing as she locked her gaze onto his. "Because if you don't help, you will be my favorite punching bag until you change your mind. Normally, I have a reason when I fight someone. This will no longer be true as far as you are concerned. I will beat you up as often as I can. You won't know where or when I'll strike next. Not only will you be suffering a ton of physical pain, but I'll have you so worried and paranoid that you won't be able to think straight even when I'm not around. Once you tell me everything I need to know, I won't hit you until you give me another reason to do so."

Gosunkugi's face went whiter than a sheet as he lost control of his bladder. "You're bluffing," he hoarsely whispered in desperation.

Ranko's face was expressionless as she responded in a deadly serious voice, "I won't go this far seeing as Akane's life isn't in any actual danger, but you should know that I killed the last guy who tried to take Akane away from me." Gosunkugi could tell by looking in her cold eyes of blue steel that she wasn't lying. He knew he had no choice but to reveal everything. He nearly lost his lunch from all the roof-hopping Ranko was doing as she dragged him away to his own house.

* * *

Once they reached the Gosunkugi home, they entered Hikaru's room through his window. After giving him a minute to rest, Ranma got down to business. "Alright, where's this spell you cast. I wanna know exactly what it did."

Gosunkugi walked over and picked the spellbook off the floor, still open to the correct page. "Actually, Saotome, the spell doesn't work under set conditions. The spell is designed to accomplish a certain task, but how it goes about doing so is up to the discretion of the spell itself depending on the circumstances of the targets used in the spellcasting.

"Those targets bein' me and Akane?" Ranma guessed.

"Yes," confirmed Gosunkugi. "The spell is meant for someone who has lost his love to a rival. By including the names of the rival and the lost love in the appropriate parts of the incantation, the spell is designed to break up the couple by rewriting the memories of everyone except for the rival and the spellcaster, you and me, into a plausible alternate view of reality that would best keep the targeted couple apart. The spellcaster is then free to try his luck at winning his love all over again. Apparently, the best method in this case was to take advantage of your curse to make everyone think your girl form is your natural birth form."

Ranma turned this explanation over in her mind. "Why would the spell leave the memories of the rival untouched? Sure, it's an extra form of revenge havin' him know how he's been screwed, but it's only askin' for trouble for the spellcaster as you're already aware." She cracked her knuckles for emphasis.

Gosunkugi sighed. "Despite your heavy experience in the matter, you still don't know much about how magic works, do you Saotome? Basically, even magic requires energy to work. For example, although a simple transformation doesn't take much, your magical curse uses up energy whenever it's invoked, either from your own body, the water used to activate it, the air around you, or most likely a combination of those factors. Likewise, a voodoo spell uses the energy found in the spell's ingredients and the spiritual and physicals energies of the spellcaster to cast its magic."

"Just think about what this particular spell had to do? Although it wouldn't have bothered with anyone who has no contact with Nerima, it had to alter the memories of hundreds, maybe thousands of people, in addition to the various minor physical alterations needed to corroborate the altered memories. The spell's creator had to save energy where he could, and the savings are particularly large when you consider how much more energy it would've taken to alter your mind about the situation compared to the average Furinkan High student or other Nerima resident . As it is, I was barely able to pull off the spell and was knocked out for over half a day."

Ranma accepted this and moved on. "So the spell is mostly altered memories? Everything that's happened in my life has still happened, right? It's just that nobody outside of this room remembers it."

"That's correct," Gosunkugi confirmed. "As I was saying, the spell also has power over physical space but only within certain limits and only where needed to grant credibility to the altered memories."

Ranma thought it over for a few seconds. "So that's how I suddenly found myself in a cab and in different clothes, heading to the Tendos' with my parents the moment the spell was cast. I'm guessing that rebuilding my mom's collapsed house was outside the spell's limits, so it instead incorporated an alternate story behind it into everyone's memories."

Gosunkugi added, "I should point out that computer data seems to also have been affected, otherwise someone would've noticed the name Saotome as already having been registered at Furinkan High. Also, your birth and registration records must have been modified to reflect the gender change, as it would've come up with your new school registration."

Ranma sighed. "Great, now even the government thinks I'm a girl. Alright, how do we fix things? There'd better be a way to break the spell."

Gosunkugi looked over at the other side of the page in his spellbook. "Don't worry, there always is. It's a necessary component of a voodoo spell to include a method to reverse it. Otherwise, it couldn't work in the first place. Let's see...here it is. 'The jilted rival must win back the heart of his lost love. Once they have proven their love for each other, the true memories will be returned.'"

Ranma shook her head at how difficult this was going to be. "Well, I do enjoy a challenge. So how do we prove our love? True love's kiss?"

Gosunkugi smirked. "What do you think this is, a Disney movie? This is real life, not a fairy tale or a manga series. No, a kiss isn't good enough. Only one thing is: consensual sexual intercourse. Good luck with that, Saotome."

Ranma's jaw dropped. When she recovered a few seconds later, she quickly snatched the spellbook away and started reading the page for herself. "Gimme that book! You've gotta be missing somethin'. Forget a challenge. This is nearly impossible! How the heck am I supposed to convince Akane to not just fall in love with but sleep with someone she thinks is another girl?! I could try to tell her the truth, but there's no way she could ever believe me. The only good thing about this is we're still technically married, so at least I have no problem with sleeping with her."

However, Ranma was soon forced to conclude that it read exactly the way Gosunkugi had described, including the footnote providing the definition of "proving love." The footnote did go on to comment that there would always be a way to accomplish it, but she had no idea what that could mean.

"Wait a minute, Saotome," Gosunkugi complained. "I thought my spell stopped your wedding. That's the whole reason I cast it when I did."

"You idiot!" Ranma replied as she threw the book down in frustration. "Can't you even read a wedding invitation correctly? We scheduled a late morning wedding and early afternoon reception. Your spell didn't take effect until after we tied the knot."

"D*** you, Saotome!" Gosunkugi cursed. "Why'd you have to marry Akane before I could cast the spell?! Even if I could somehow get her away from you and win her love myself, I can't marry another man's wife. I suppose I could kill you first, but let's face it, you have a better chance of convincing Akane to bang a chick than I have of ever pulling that off."

Ranma grabbed the front of his jacket once again. "What was that, Gosunkugi?" she growled. "Don't forget that part of our deal is for you to stay away from Akane. I don't like guys who knowingly hit on my wife. Mark my words: deal or no deal, you're gonna pay for this out of your hide, someday, you miserable parasite."

Gosunkugi whimpered. "But I've done everything you asked. You promised you wouldn't pound me if I helped."

Ranma grinned. "I only promised that _I_ wouldn't hurt you. Somehow, someday, I _will_ break your spell, and when I do, there won't be a single place on this planet where you'll be safe from Akane's wrath." She quickly jumped out the window and began roof-hopping home, leaving behind a frightened Gosunkugi who was now wishing he had never cast that spell.

* * *

Ranko entered the house still thinking about the ultimate challenge that lay ahead for her when she heard Kasumi's voice calling from the kitchen. "Ranko, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," she responded as she removed her shoes. "I had ta take care of somethin'. I told Akane I'd be late.

"She told me," Kasumi replied. "Do you think you could help me in the kitchen for a while? I could use some help getting dinner ready on time."

"Sure thing, Kasumi," Ranko answered. "Just give me a couple minutes to get changed first." She went up the stairs to the room she now shared with Akane. She was grateful to find the room empty, as she wasn't ready to talk to Akane after what she had just learned. She wasted no time in removing her feminine clothing, except for the bra which was a necessary evil according to her mother, and changing into her boxer shorts and usual Chinese style of clothing. With a forced smile on her face, she retraced her steps to the main floor and went to help Kasumi in the kitchen.

* * *

After borrowing one of Kasumi's aprons, Ranko worked alongside Kasumi, although there didn't seem to be as much for her to do as she thought there would be. After a few minutes, Akane came in, obviously having been working out in the dojo. "Oh, Ranko, you're home. Did you get done what you needed to do?"

Ranko's smile became genuine as she answered, "Yeah, it was no big deal." Ranko's heart nearly skipped a beat as Akane smiled in return.

Kasumi flashed a gentle smile of her own. "Akane, why don't you go take a bath while we finish making dinner? I'd like to get to know Ranko a little better while we have time some alone together." Akane nodded and left the room.

As they continued to work, Kasumi started up a new conversation. "Ranko, first of all, I need to thank you for what you did for Akane at school today. She was so excited to tell me all about it when she came home. I haven't seen her this happy in a long time."

"I'm glad I could help, Kasumi," Ranko replied. "It was disgusting and dishonorable what they were doin' to her. Nobody gets away with hurting my friends if there's something I can do about it." 'And especially when they go after Akane,' she finished in her mind.

All of a sudden, Kasumi turned around with a serious look on her face and moved into a slight defensive stance, one Ranko noticed would allow her to quickly start moving if needed without appearing too much out of place. Looking Ranko in the eyes, she got to the real reason she had arranged this private talk. "Ranko," she began in a less expressive tone of voice that sounded strange coming from her. "You haven't yet given me any reason to think poorly of you. However, something extremely strange is happening, and I know you're somehow involved. If you intend to harm my family, I will do whatever I can to stop you."

Ranko surprised herself at how relieved she felt. She just now realized how nice it would be to have someone to talk to (other than Gosunkugi, of course) about this whole mess. Even better, Kasumi was the one person in the whole household with whom she felt somewhat comfortable discussing her relationship issues. It had been Kasumi who had listened to and comforted both Akane and herself (separately, of course) the night after the failed wedding attempt, which had given them the courage they needed to discuss their relationship themselves the following night. She just hoped Kasumi would believe her.

First, she had to find out how much Kasumi already knew. "Believe me, Kasumi, you have nothing to fear from me. However, you are correct that something weird is happening, something I intend to fix. How did you know?"

Not moving from her stance, Kasumi replied, "I've noticed several strange things since you and your family arrived yesterday. For one thing, you know your way around this house too well for someone who's never been here before. When you went to change before sparring with Akane in the dojo, you took your suitcase straight to the guest room, which I moved to Akane's room after it was decided you would be sleeping there. You also knew your way to the bathroom when you were done sparring." Ranko did a mental facepalm for making such foolish mistakes.

Kasumi continued. "When your parents were sharing stories about your, um, interesting life, I realized that a few things didn't add up right. I don't always keep up with current events, but I should've heard about huge public events like a winged minotaur fighting an asura in the sky in broad daylight, or a pair of Chinese twins erecting a gigantic construct of poisonous plants. On top of that, what our fathers said about Happosai made me realize something. While I remember everything Father said as being true, I somehow can't recall any details such as specific instances of when he's molested me. That kind of thing tends to stick in a girl's mind. It's like my memories are only half-formed, and I also don't understand why I've never realized this before now."

Kasumi shook her head as if to clear it of mental cobwebs and continued with her next point. "Today, while doing the housework, I noticed the rough shape of this house and the dojo. There has been a large amount of repair work done, a lot more than I remember being necessary. While Akane has caused some damage over the years, we've otherwise managed to properly maintain the compound, yet all of a sudden, it looks like our property has been used as an fighting arena for the last year or two, including what looks like the repairs of several large holes in the walls." Ranko gulped, as she had always felt guilty about the damage she had directly or indirectly done to the poor house and dojo.

"Then there's one last thing that makes me convinced you know something about this in addition to your uncanny familiarity with this house. Whenever you look at Akane, you get this look in your eyes. I can't tell exactly, but your eyes are full of happiness whenever you see her, like you've known and cared for Akane for a long time. It's not the look of someone who just made a new friend the day before. I noticed it again when Akane just came in from the dojo. You were looking troubled and trying to hide it, but when Akane walked in, your face lit up with a real smile, and your eyes had that look in them again. Just what exactly is going on?"

Ranko was extremely impressed with Kasumi's deductive reasoning. She knew that Kasumi was more intelligent than she let on, but she had severely underestimated how much she paid attention to the things going on around her and how well she could think things through. She resolved to show Kasumi more respect for her mind from now on. "You know, it's funny how most people just dismiss you as this happily oblivious homemaker, yet you're actually quite brilliant in your own way. You'll do well in college once ya finally get an opportunity to attend. I thought that if anyone would be able to figure it out, it would be Nabiki."

Kasumi blushed at the compliment. "I would like to attend college someday, but my family needs me too much right now." She sighed in disappointment. "I don't think you have to worry about Nabiki. While she is smarter than me in general, her thinking is actually quite limited in some ways. She's the kind of thinker who places too much emphasis on what she can detect with her senses and has trouble thinking outside-the-box. Yesterday, before you and Akane joined us, she absolutely refused to believe anything your parents were saying about magic and the more superhuman aspects of your martial arts until she saw your father's transformation for herself. Anyway, that's enough stalling. You need to give me some answers now."

Ranko sighed in defeat and thought for a moment about where to begin. "Basically, I'm the main victim of a voodoo spell cast by one of my rivals, if you can call him that, which has altered the memories of everyone who knows me into accepting an alternative version of events. The truth is my name is really Ran_ma_ Saotome, I'm a boy cursed to turn into a girl, and me an' my family have been livin' here for the past year an' a half."

Kasumi stared at her, no him, in shock. While she had expected magic to be involved somehow, this was just too crazy, yet it explained everything. She looked into Ranma's deep blue eyes and saw the seriousness in them. After what she had done for Akane and with what she now saw in her eyes, she somehow knew she could trust this Ranma and the strange story he was telling. "I believe you," she said at last as she relaxed her stance and went back to fixing dinner. "Although I don't remember anything about you before yesterday, I can already tell that I can trust you. So why exactly did you move in with us the first time? Was your house really destroyed?"

Ranma let out a breath she had been holding. "Well, it was, but that was less than a year ago, and only my mom was living there. Pop and I had been living here for months before she joined us."

"Why would she have stayed by herself for so long?" Kasumi asked.

"Well, you see," continued Ranma, "when I was six years old, Pop had this crazy idea that in order for me to fulfill my potential as a martial artist, I needed to be separated from my mother's love or some such nonsense, so he wanted ta take me on a long training journey away from Mom. As you can imagine, Mom wasn't too thrilled 'bout the idea. She only let him take me after he signed a certain contract and also added my hand print to it. It said that Pop promised to raise me to be a 'man among men,' or me an' him would both commit seppuku."

"Oh my!" gasped Kasumi. "How horrible! Still, I'm sure she wouldn't have actually enforced such a terrible contract."

Ranma sighed. "Actually, she took it very seriously. She would've done it if she'd a judged me unmanly. I'll get back to that, but I've got some other things ta mention, first. Anyway, for ten years it was just me an' him, constantly training, at times even bein' abused by Pop's obsessiveness or just plain stupidity. He never even mentioned my mother the whole time. I had assumed she was dead. Meanwhile, Pop kept shoving his sexist c*** down my throat about women bein' weaker, you can't hit girls, and guys ain't supposed ta show their emotions, culminatin' with gettin' us cursed at Jusenkyo. As ya probably figured out by now, I actually fell in the Spring of Drowned Girl, and my transformations occur just like every other Jusenkyo curse: cold water to transform, hot water to change back." Kasumi's opinion of Mr. Saotome began falling by the second as she continued to listen.

"Pop was scared about what Mom would think about the curse considering our contract, so he stopped writing to her at that point. When she tracked us down here after a few months, we would hide in plain sight in our cursed forms whenever she would visit, passin' ourselves off as your cousin, Ranko Tendo, and her pet panda. Thankfully, when she did eventually discover the truth, she had been around me long enough to realize that I had fulfilled the contract by my actions despite having an unmanly curse that I don't have much control over."

"That still doesn't explain why you came here," interrupted Kasumi.

"Well," continued Ranma, "shortly after Jusenkyo, Pop decided it was time to head back to Japan and meet up with your father. Do you know about an old agreement our fathers made before we were born about joining the branches of the Anything-Goes School?"

"Yes, I remember." answered Kasumi. "They promised to one day join the Schools through an arranged marriage of their children." Kasumi stopped stirring her pot as the realization hit her. "You and Akane?" she asked.

"That's right," confirmed Ranma. "Pop dragged me over here to engage me ta one of you girls, and you an' Nabiki both dumped Akane off on me."

"Oh my, I'm sure she wasn't happy about that," said Kasumi with an amused look on her face.

"That's an understatement," agreed Ranma. "It didn't help that she had just accidentally walked in on my male form in the bathroom. I did try ta keep that from happening again this time but to no avail. Anyway, I wasn't very happy about bein' forced into an engagement either, so we didn't get off to a good start, especially with my foot-in-mouth disease developed over the way Pop had raised me, and her tendency to lose her temper and clobber me over the littlest things. Further complicating the situation were the three other girls who were chasin' after me; a childhood friend who Pop foolishly arranged another engagement with, a Chinese Amazon who considered us engaged accordin' to her tribe's crazy laws after I beat her in combat, and a crazy stalker. Meanwhile, Akane was still the most desired girl in school, particularly where Kuno was concerned."

"However, despite all our problems, we did quickly become close friends in our own kind of way. I don't know about Akane, but I started having romantic feelings for her within the first couple a weeks, back when I helped her get over her crush on Dr. Tofu. Unfortunately, whenever we started getting close, either our idiot fathers would ruin things tryin' to get us married off as soon as they could, or we'd get scared and slip into denial on our own. Either way, I'd shoot off my mouth, and we'd just get into another argument."

"It took ten months of dancin' around our feelings until somethin' big happened to cause a breakthrough. We were both finally able to admit our feelings and become an official couple. Five months ago, we agreed to get married on our own terms, and yesterday we got married shortly before the spell was cast. I guess I should've expected somethin' ta happen, but why can't anything ever go smoothly in my life?"

Kasumi didn't know what to say, as tears started to fall from her eyes. The story was just so tragic. For a year and a half, her sister and new brother-in-law had fought their way through innumerable obstacles to find love only to be cruelly separated now. She started sniffling as she dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. "That's just so sad. Who would be so cruel as to do this to you, and what exactly did he do?"

Ranma sighed. "I just found out myself. I discovered the culprit at school today, and I paid him a little visit before I came home. His name is Hikaru Gosunkugi, an amateur voodoo practitioner and one of Akane's more persistent suitors before we got together for real. He cast a spell that modified the memories of everyone but me an' him into what you now remember, effectively breaking up my marriage in order for Gosunkugi to have another shot at Akane. The only way to return things to normal is ta win Akane's heart all over again to the point where she'll agree ta make love, a nearly impossible quest under the circumstances. The spellbook claims there's a way ta do it, but such a solution is news ta me."

Ranma might have imagined it, but for a moment there appeared to be a twinkle of victory in Kasumi's eye, but it was gone as soon as it had appeared. Kasumi smiled and said, "You know you can't give up, right? You two have gone through too much to find happiness just to quit now. I'll help you out however I can. Just tell me if you need me to do anything for you."

Ranma smiled for the first time since Akane had left the room. "I know. I intend to beat this. Ranma Saotome never loses. Thanks, Kasumi. I really appreciate your support."

Just then, the doorbell rang, indicating Dr. Tofu's arrival. Kasumi went to greet her fiance, having finished preparing dinner during their conversation. Before long, everyone sat down to eat.

* * *

After dinner, Nabiki approached Ranko and handed her a folded, hand-written note. "Kuno-baby asked me to give this to you."

Ranko opened what appeared to be a challenge letter. "To the fiesty Ranko Saotome: Please come to the second field of Furinkan High School tomorrow afternoon at 4:36 PM."

"Sounds like a duel," commented Akane from over her shoulder.

"You know, Kuno's a real sore loser," added Nabiki. "He's out for blood."

Akane started to get concerned. "Maybe it's best you didn't go."

'Oh no!' thought Ranko. 'I remember this now. Failing to show up won't change nothin'. Well, I've a day to figure out how ta handle this. I certainly don't want Kuno chasing me around again while I'm tryin' to get close to Akane.' She voiced some of her thoughts out loud. "I don't think it'll matter to someone like him. I'll have ta face him again eventually, so I might as well get it over with."

* * *

The next afternoon, Ranko arrived at the meeting place a little early and smiled as she hid a kettle behind a nearby tree. Kasumi had come up with an excellent plan, almost certain to convince Kuno to back off without being too awkward if he spread the story around school.

She approached the field, and soon Kuno appeared as well, spouting his usual bad poetry. He soon got to his point. "It is now 4:36 PM, the moment when the sunset is at its most beautiful. For it is the rising young star of the high school kendo world who shines before you. They call me the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High. It is I, Tatewaki Kuno, who has beckoned you to me."

She played along as if this were the first time this were happening. "Hey, where's that stick you're always wavin' around?"

"I have no need of it," answered Kuno.

"Pretty confidant, ain't cha?" replied Ranko.

"Confident enough to give you...this." Kuno quickly tossed an item through the air in a blur, which Ranko snatched easily in her hand. Just as before, it was a bouquet of red roses. Kuno started walking away as he said, "Ranko Saotome, I love you." He turned his head back towards her as he said this, which was Ranko's cue.

Ranko quickly tossed the bouquet to the ground and stepped on it. She called out, "You despicable pig! You were torturing Akane through your deluded method of trying to date her. Why would I have any interest in you? I hate you! I wouldn't date you if you were the last man on Earth!" 'Which would mean I'm either dead or living with Akane on a space station or moon colony,' she added to herself. She added the final touch to her performance. "Why cancha just leave me and Akane alone?" She turned and started running away while making sobbing noises as if she were breaking into tears.

This was a little too much for even Kuno's deluded mind. He turned and began to pursue her, as he called out, "Miss Ranko, please wait!" However, he soon found his path blocked by an athletic-looking pig-tailed boy, whose appearance and clothes reminded him of the crying girl who had just fled from him.

The boy snarled at him and angrily asked, "Are you the jerk who's been givin' my little sister a hard time? Nobody gets away with makin' her cry while I'm around."

Kuno gulped at the angry look in his eyes. "Y-You're Ranko's older brother?"

The boy put on a cocky grin. "That's right. The name's Ranma Saotome. If you thought my sister was hard to handle, you ain't seen nothin' yet. I'm even better than she is. In fact, I taught her everything she knows about martial arts."

At this response, Kuno knew he was in trouble. He quickly bowed himself to the ground. "My apologies, honorable Saotome. I myself have a younger sister, so I know how you must feel. I never intended to make the young lady cry. I merely wished to express my feelings of passion for the untamed yet beautiful red rose in both our lives. If perchance you might let me speak with-" Kuno was cut off as his face was struck with a vicious right cross.

"YOU F****** IDIOT!" Ranma yelled. He pulled Kuno off the ground and slammed his knee into Kuno's groin. "Ranko has already made it perfectly clear that she wants nothin' to do with a perverted scumbag like you, and what you did to our friend Akane was probably illegal! If you bother either of them again, I'll force you to stay away from them by means of an extended hospital stay! Do I make myself clear?!" He tossed Kuno to the ground.

"Yes," squeaked Kuno, who was doubled over in pain. 'One day I will defeat you and get my revenge for this humiliation,' thought Kuno. 'With you out of the way, I will once again be able to pursue my two lovely godesses.'

Ranma turned to leave but stopped and turned back. He watched as Kuno struggled to his feet. "One more thing, Kuno. This is for Akane and my sister! MOKO TAKABISHA!" Kuno screamed as he was enveloped in a large blast of ki energy, which sent him flying across the school grounds. 'Man, I've always wanted to tell him off like that. If this doesn't convince 'im, nothin' will. I'm sure he'll try to come after my male side for revenge, but he can't fight what he can't find.'

Ranma started heading for home, grabbing the now empty kettle and the discarded bra as he passed them, happier than he had been since before this whole mess started.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **So is this what you expected was going on with Gosunkugi's spell?

As you probably noticed, starting with this chapter, the narration will now be switching between the names "Ranko" and "Ranma" depending on what is appropriate for the situation.

My apologies if I've contradicted any real life voodoo practices, but magic isn't real in our world, and the mechanics of it were never explained in Ranma canon, so I reserve the right to make up whatever rules I want for this fiction.

You may have noticed that Kuno's invitation read a little differently from Ranma canon. I had to give Ranma until the next day, as he would've otherwise missed the meeting after talking to Gosunkugi and Kasumi. If you want an in-universe explanation, consider it an application of the "butterfly effect." As for the time of day difference, this story is taking place at the opposite half of the year from when it originally happened, so the sunset occurred earlier this time.

By the way, I've updated all of the previous chapters with some minor fixes.

It might be a while until I release the next chapter, as I want to do some work on "Leap Year" first and maybe do a one-shot story as well.


End file.
